Introduction
In this article, we will examine the call to True Worship in the First Angel’s Message of Revelation 14:6-7. We will highlight the main points of this message and its significance for Christians in the end times. We will address the concepts of the everlasting gospel, the call to fear and worship God, and the identification of the true God as the Creator of all things. In addition, we will discuss the role of the messengers who proclaim this message and the relevance of this warning for Christians today as we approach the final moments of earth’s history before the return of Jesus Christ.
Contextualizing the 3 Angelic Messages
In Revelation 14, three angels announce “The Three Angels’ Messages“. These messages are intended for people living in the last period of time on earth before the return of Jesus Christ. However, these angels do not deliver them literally to every person. The angels used in these passages of Revelation 14 are symbols referring to messengers. In other words, people who dedicate themselves to taking this message to those who do not know it.
The word used in the language in which the Bible was written, when referring to “angels“, can mean either a celestial being or a person sent by God. For example, the text of Mark 1:2 in the Almeida Fiel version of the Bible, brings the translation of the word “angel ” when referring to John the Baptist, the prophet who preceded Jesus Christ.
The Bible in the Almeida Updated version brought the word “messenger ” to refer to the same person. Another example is the letters sent to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, which are addressed to the “angels ” who were in those churches. In reality, the letters were being sent to Christians converted to Jesus who lived in those regions (Revelation 2-3).
Therefore, the three angels’ messages symbolize people on this earth who are proclaiming certain messages to the world. In this study, we will only look at part of the First Angel’s Message.
The First Angel’s Message
The following text describes this message:
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him: for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” – Revelation 14:6-7
The Eternal Gospel
The above verses highlight some interesting points. Notice that the text says that these messengers would proclaim the “everlasting gospel” to all the inhabitants of this world. What does God mean by “everlasting gospel“? Notice that a specific gospel was specified to be preached, which God called “everlasting.” Are there other gospels being taught throughout the world, or even by professed Christian churches? Notice the warning that the apostle Paul gave to the Galatians in advance:
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach any other gospel to you than the one we preached to you, let him be under God’s curse!” – Galatians 1:8
In the same way, when Jesus was here on earth, He specified the gospel that was to be preached to the whole world before His return:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14
Understand that there is at least one type of gospel that is being preached throughout the world. With respect to these passages, it is evident that there are several people proclaiming a different type of teaching regarding the Bible. The message is clear and refers to a specific gospel to be proclaimed to the entire world so that the return of Jesus may happen. And in this eternal gospel, we have a call to true worship.
The Content of the First Message
The First Angel’s Message loudly proclaims three important points which are highlighted in the above verse. These three points are respectively:
- Fear God, and give him glory
- The hour of His judgment has come
- And worship Him who made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters (a call to true worship)
Regarding the first and third items, we can group them as being a message for people to fear God, giving glory to Him, and also to worship Him. The second item declares a time when God will judge the world, that is, all the people of this earth, and that is why “The Three Angels’ Messages” are proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the planet. As for God’s judgment, that subject will not be addressed in this study, but we will focus only on the call to fear and worship God.
Whom to Worship?
The question we might ask is: “Whom, or which God, should we fear and worship? ” After all, there are many religions and churches in our world. Faced with this problem, how can we know which God should be worshipped? Who should we truly worship?
The answer to this question was presented in the third item, where the angel declared: “He that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Therefore, we must search in the Holy Scriptures to find out who this message refers to.
To the Living God, and Lord of Heaven and Earth
On a certain occasion, the apostles Paul and Barnabas went to preach the gospel to the inhabitants of the cities of Lystra and Derbe, who proclaimed the following words:
“And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? we also are men with you, subject to like passions: and we preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that is in them.” – Acts 14:15
The calling of the apostles referred to conversion to the “Living God“, being He, the One “who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them“. Realize that the Creator is a “Living God“, and this God is the One who made all things. On another occasion, when Paul was in Athens, he announced to the inhabitants of that region the conversion to God, identifying Him in the following way:
“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made with hands.” – Acts 17:24
We should have no doubt that the God we are to fear and give glory to in the First Angel’s message recorded in Revelation 14:6-7 is the same God preached by the apostles in the first century. In both passages this God is identified as the Creator of all things. Regarding the last passage cited (Acts 17:24), the apostle Paul still identifies Him as the “Lord of heaven and earth“.
Therefore, we find that the God to be worshipped is the creator of all things. It is to Him that we must render True worship!
Who is this God?
After all, who would this God be who is the “Lord of heaven and earth“? We will turn to Jesus Christ, the only one among all human beings who ascended and descended from heaven (John 3:12-13). He will surely be able to answer this question for us:
“At that time Jesus answered and said: I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to babes.” – Matthew 11:25
The Father of Jesus
Jesus Himself reveals to us that His Father is the “Lord of heaven and earth“. It is about God, the Father of Jesus, that the First Angel’s Message is referring. It is He whom we are to fear, give glory to, and worship! This message, to be given to the whole world, is about worshiping God the Father. On another occasion, when the apostles Peter and John returned to their fellow believers, they reported all the bad things that had happened to them because they had preached the gospel. On that occasion, they all proclaimed to God:
“And when they heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: […] For truly against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together.” – Acts 4:24,27
Not only Paul and our Lord Jesus Christ, but His other disciples also recognized the Father as the One who created all things. They all identified Him as the One who made “the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all that is in them“.
Once again we understand that the true worship announced in the First Angel’s Message refers to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must not confuse the texts that refer to Jesus as the creator of all things with the person of the Father.
The One True God
These texts simply show us that God the Father accomplished His work of creation through His Son. Jesus was the One who carried out all the work of creation that God planned and designed (John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-16; Heb. 1:1-2; Rev. 3:14). Concerning His Father, the Creator of all things, Jesus provides more information in John 17:3.
“And this is eternal life, that they might know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” – John 17:3
Jesus identifies His Father as being the “one true God“. There is no other being besides the Father, whom we must recognize as our God. Jesus prayed that we would understand this important message, which would be proclaimed in the end times before His return. In another passage we also find the same reference to the Father, He being the “Living God” announced by Paul, and the “true god“, quoted by Jesus Christ. Let us read I Thessalonians 1:9-10.
“For they themselves report concerning us what manner of reception we had among you, and how ye turned to God from idols, to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivereth us from the wrath to come.” – I Thessalonians 1:9-10
Once again we confirm from the Holy Scriptures that the God to whom the First Angel’s Message refers is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We find that the three titles cited in the above passages refer to the Father.
- The Living God: The Father
- The Lord of heaven and earth: The Father
- The One True God: The Father
Conclusion
We conclude that the only God to whom we should give true worship is the person of the Father. This is the message proclaimed by the First Angel’s Message, which is to be preached “to every nation, tribe, tongue and people” (Revelation 14:7). No other god is to be acknowledged before Him. This is part of the message to be proclaimed to the world before Jesus returns. May you and I understand this message and be part of the group of worshipers mentioned by Jesus:
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” – John 4:23
May God bless us.
