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.
The Second Message of
the Gospel
The survivors of the
first four trumpets will scramble for
understanding and information about
the overwhelming wrath of God.
Religious leaders will suddenly
“figure out” that (a) God
has wrath, and (b) God is responding
to the world’s corporate evil
and degenerate ways. Religious
leaders will suddenly call for reform
and seek laws demanding respect for
God because of this crisis sent from
God. They will form a world
organization and each religion
system, will in its own way, attempt
to appease God so that His judgments
will cease. Religious leaders will
see that laws are quickly passed
requiring all men to worship and
honor God, including laws to respect
His holy day. However, the problem is
that Moslems, Jews, Catholics and
Protestants do not agree which day is
holy!
In this setting, a
second message from God will be sent
through out the Earth. Do not allow
the brevity of this second message to
mislead you. This is a very important
message and it is an extension of the
first message. This message reveals
certain matters about
“Righteousness by Faith”
that every Christian needs to know: “A
second angel followed and said,
“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the
Great, which made all the nations
drink the maddening wine of her
adulteries.” (Revelation
14:8)
This message declares
two things:
1. “Fallen!
Fallen is Babylon the Great” A
crisis government (Babylon the Great)
will quickly form in response to
God’s judgments. This government
will be lead by the world’s
religious leaders – with
political following. This message
from God declares that the worldwide
government is corrupt and blasphemous
(or fallen). God has nothing to do
with the global endeavor to appease
His wrath. The whole system and
theology upon which the crisis
government is built is false. It is
the work of the devil. Do not yield
to its authority, have nothing to do
with it for God will destroy it and
all who obey its blasphemous laws.
2. “Made all
nations drink the maddening wine of
her adulteries” The crisis
government (Babylon the Great) will
demand cooperation from all nations.
This message declares that all
nations will drink (buy into) the
lies advocated by the world’s
religious leaders. The resulting laws
will be conflicting and maddening.
This crisis government is called
adulterous and immoral because
religious leaders will be “in
bed together” for a common
cause. (See Jeremiah 25:15,16, for
parallel language on this maddening
wine.)
This message, like the
first message, will reveal all who
place the law of God above the laws
of men. No one can hide from this
test. People will demonstrate where
their loyalties lie when tested with
severe penalties for disobedience.
The greater the penalties, the
clearer the outcome of the test. Just
as winter strips the trees in the
forest of their leaves, leaving the
evergreens to stand out in contrast
to the forest’s barren limbs, so
the hardships of tribulation will
strip away the pretext of religion,
and faith in God will be revealed.
The Great Tribulation is a time for
wrath for everyone. If we obey God,
we will suffer at the hands of men.
If we obey men, we will suffer
torment and eternal death from God.
This is the great vortex coming upon
the Earth. This is the great testing
time of faith. Those who love God and
His truth, those who render obedience
as He commands, will have to live by
faith – there is no other way to
remain faithful to God.
The seriousness of the
second message can only be understood
within the context of the stringent
laws and severe penalties imposed
upon the nations. Anyone who
disobeys, rebels, opposes or aids and
abets people opposing the crisis
government’s laws will suffer
greatly. The devil is the force
behind the sudden and powerful rise
of the crisis government. (Revelation
13:2-4) The Bible indicates that all
inhabitants of the Earth will submit
to this government, all except those
having their names written in the
Book of Life. (Revelation 13:8)
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