The First Angel's Message

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As the world continues its downward spiral of moral decay, the message of the First Angel is crucial. It is God's three part call to the people of the Earth, lovingly appealing to all to turn their hearts to Him, now, before it's too late. 

          It is an appeal to return to the true Word of God -- the everlasting or eternal Gospel

          It is a warning of judgment that will occur before Christ's return to this planet.

          It uplifts God as the Creator and calls for a return to true worship.

An Angel is a messenger. In the symbolism of the Book of Revelation, an angel represents the people of God who have been tasked with sharing this important, last day message with the world. The angel flying in the midst of heaven indicates that these messages are intended to be shared worldwide, ultimately reaching the entire human race before the return of Christ.

The theology of the Bible has been so corrupted and misinterpreted that it is far from God's original intent. There are five major world religions. Each one holds that their beliefs are the only correct ones. There are around 45,000 different Christian denominations in the world. Each one claims that their interpretation of the Bible is correct. 

The truth is that there is only one Gospel. The first angel calls it "the everlasting gospel." This is significant because this end-time gospel (good news) is the same gospel preached by the apostles two thousand years ago. It is the simple message of the purpose, ministry, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf. It is the unaltered message of hope, salvation, and promise. It was recorded before being corrupted by false human interpretation. The Apostle Paul wrote "If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received [from the apostles], let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:9).

Centuries of compromise by religious organizations and false interpretations by individuals have left humanity with a confusing, incorrect and dangerous collection of powerless concepts. The first angel appeals to us to return to the pure, uncorrupted, unaltered gospel given to us by the Holy Spirit through the gospel writers.

Jesus said, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14). This is a worldwide proclamation of the true gospel. As we near the return of Jesus to this planet, God will send His warning message to all the inhabitants of Earth. Revelation 13 symbolically depicts those in rebellion against God, His law and His commandments. The first angel's message in Revelation 14 is God's declaration of mercy and His call to those who have a relationship with Him. It is also His warning to those in rebellion against His kingdom.

The loud voice indicates that the message of this angel is extremely important and will be conveyed so that everyone will have an opportunity to hear it. It is a universal message of immense importance.

In our society today, God's name and title is used in cursing and is commonly used casually in many disrespectful ways. To fear God means to respect and revere Him as our Creator God. It means to submit to His authority and power, fully surrendering to His will. It means to worship and honor and praise Him for who He is, with reverence and awe. We need not be afraid of Him. The Bible tells us that He is Love (1John 4:8), and He loves and cares about each one of us.

The first angel sends out a warning that a time of judgment is coming. This call is to wake people up to the fact that our choices have consequences, both good and bad, now and in eternity. For those who choose to accept the sacrifices of Jesus on their behalf, and who live their lives in a way that honors Him, His Word, and His law, will spend eternity with Him. Those who rebel against God and refuse the saving grace He offers will lose out on salvation and eternal life.

The Bible gives us a view of the religious conditions that will exist just before Jesus returns. The central issue will be Worship. Will we worship the Creator God and be loyal to Him and His holy law? Or will we place our loyalty on the false gods of tradition, human understanding, and materialism? Will we acknowledge God as the Creator of all things, or will we continue to believe the theory of evolution that denies the existence of a Creator and removes God from the picture? Will we continue to allow the false gods of spiritualism to corrupt the sacred tenants of the Bible and Christianity, or will we choose to discard all forms of false worship? Our Creator God is the only true object of worship. 

Scripture tells us clearly that "In the beginning God created the Heaven and the earth" (Genesis 1:10), and that He did it in six literal days. The Bible also tells us that the Creator is Jesus (John 1:3; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16,17; Hebrews 1:2,10). Jesus is the Designer of all that exists and the One who created all things. It was Jesus at Creation. It was Jesus who parted the Red Sea. It was Jesus on Mt Sinai, writing the 10 Commandments on stone tablets with His own finger and giving them to humanity through Moses. It is the same Jesus who said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

The Fourth Commandment tells us to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” because “in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth” (Exodus 20:8,11). These are the exact words that we hear the first angel repeating. It was Jesus who rested on the seventh day of creation. Jesus is the One who made it holy. Jesus sanctified the seventh day (set it apart). Jesus said that "the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God" (Exodus 20:10). Jesus told us that He is "Lord even of the sabbath day" (Matthew 12:8). The seventh day of the week is the true Lord's Day, set apart by Jesus, not Sunday.

The first angel calls us to return to the pure worship of God as Creator. It is an appeal to discard all forms of false worship and man-made traditions. Are you worshipping the way and on the day that Jesus asked you to? Are you ready to respond to His appeal?