First Angel - Study of Three Angels of Revelation 14

The first angel announces that the gospel will be preached to the world before the end time Babylon is destroyed by fire. The passage summarizes the gospel; fear God through faith Hebrews 11:6; glorify God by praising Him Psalm 86:12; worship God by serving Him Revelation 19:5. The everlasting gospel is the Ten Commandments which God wrote in stone. The main theme of the Commandments of love must be remembered Deuteronomy 6:5. We are at the beginning of the period of the Holy Spirit being poured out and the gospel being preached.

Study by:  David Cartmel

Revelation 14:6-7 (New King James Version)
6   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 -
7   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."

2. What

3. When - during the five retributions Leviticus 26 which Christ calls the beginning of sorrows Matthew 24:8.

This is a period of judgment on end time Babylon for being evil and rejecting God's laws.

The generation alive when end time events start will not pass away before Christ returns Matthew 24:34. How long is this? The beginning of sorrows has many events that could take years. They have already spanned several years and we have yet to start the four severe judgments in Ezekiel 14:21. This is a time that God is calling workers to do His end time work of preaching the gospel and harvesting John 4:35 those who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior.

4. Where

• End time Babylon
• Preached to the whole world

5. Why - The covenant people and Christians have rejected Jesus Christ's teachings and only preach His name and not His way of life. During the Great Tribulation those who rejected Christ will remember the words they heard and turn back to the Way.

The gospel needs to be preached to the world as a warning. God does will not bring judgment in secret Deuteronomy 32:26-27. The message of salvation and of turning back to God will be preached Mathew 10. God wants us to repent and to call a church assembly so that repentance starts in the church Joel 2:12-17. This is a time of mourning and repentance not that of celebrating Isaiah 22:12-13. We are to preach to the gospel to the world with hope that they will repent and avoid punishment.

Christ provides detail for this first angel and why the gospel needs to be preached Matthew 24:3-14. Jesus Christ tells the disciples how people fail. Revelation with the first angel tells us what we should be doing. The Disciples ask Jesus for signs of the end time. They believed it was to happen in their life time. Christ answers their literal question thus giving an answer for our time. The first sign is that false teachers will come. In Matthew 7:21-23 Christ says these false teachers will cast out demons and do wonders. Thus they believe in Christ enough to use His name to perform miracles. However they have rejected Christ's teachings. In verse Matthew 24:12 He says because of what mainstream Christianity teaches the love of many will grow cold. Many will not keep the Ten Commandments or walk in Gods ways and instead will be of the world, their hearts empty. The preaching of the gospel is a warning and period of time before the start of the Great Tribulation.

What false teachings?

1. False preaching of rapture. Matthew 24:24-27 Christ says that there is only one second coming in glory to establish His kingdom not two as those who teach the rapture believe. Christ knew that end time Christians would believe in a Pre-Tribulation rapture and provides it as a sign of the end time. He says that any that teach the rapture are false teachers. Despite this warning many will not read the scriptures and will be fooled by the false prophets. Wikipedia summarizes the rapture belief and its reliance on a secret or private coming.

2. False preaching of lawlessness that Sabbath and Ten Commandments are done away Matthew 7:21-23, Matthew 13:41. Teaching what profit is it to keep the Sabbath and Commandments for they are done away with Malachi 3:13-15.

The Day of the Lord and His judgment is compared to refining metal in a furnace Ezekiel 22:17-31. Those who survive will return to Jerusalem during the millennium. Why has God brought judgment on Christians, Ezekiel 22:24? The Church trades souls for money. They have rejected God's Holy Days and Sabbath and keep man made days filled with pagan beliefs. They do not love the people and have forgotten Jesus Christ by not knowing the difference between right and wrong. The angel announces the preaching, but it is the Church that is supposed to preach the gospel. God will reject these Christian leaders and those who have rejected Christ will go through the Great Tribulation.

Ezekiel uses house of Israel to refer not to the Jews but to the lost tribes and Christians. We will study them in more detail for the second angel, but I want you to see the answer to why the gospel must be preached. God will gather those who survive the Great Tribulation to Jerusalem Ezekiel 22:19. The end of Ezekiel 22:20 As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in mine anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. was obviously confusing to the translators and I will leave you there and melt you. Notice in your Bible how you there is italics, you can use a translation tool to find the original language. It is because they were added in English and are not in the original Hebrew. This adds a meaning as if this happens in Jerusalem. We know from the rest of the Bible that the remnant does not return to Jerusalem until after Christ returns. When you see Ezekiel in the context of the Revelation summary of the same period you have the key that unlocks prophecy. This prophecy is for those who receive a calling to accept Christ as their Savior so they do not die in far away lands.

these things must come to pass, . . . wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places Matthew 24:5-7. These are the events spoken by the prophets that scholars refer to as the five retributions Leviticus 26. They end with Babylon being destroyed by fire in one hour (second angel). There have been many rumors of wars, but Christ is being specific by providing a list from the retributions. Some mistakenly look for the items in the list instead of going back to the Old Testament. Christ is not providing new information. He is explaining the Old Testament and confirming that it applies not specifically to the Jews but to Christians and the lost tribes of Israel. The five retributions line up with the first angel as the time the Gospel must be preached. Those who endure the Great Tribulation will be saved. They will know the truth because it has been preached in the previous period called the beginning of sorrow Matthew 24:8.

It will be difficult to preach the truth during this period because people have grown tired of listening to prophecy and have been told lies about Jesus Christ. Despite this the gospel must be preached so that nations will know this is God's judgment and not mans doing Deuteronomy 32:27. Elijah the fifth messenger Malachi 4:1-6 turns the hearts of children to their fathers. God will send a powerful preacher of righteousness to announce His coming just like He sent John the Baptist before Christ's first coming. He will remind us to keep the Law of Moses. Read Malachi and refer to the study Study of Future Israel - What Lands make up Israel? to see the Bible's prophecy for His messengers and the Church. Because of the difficulty to preach the gospel God will send help with a pouring out of the Holy Spirit and a messenger.

We are saved by Grace and walk the path by keeping the Sabbath and Ten Commandments. We can not be saved by works. We are not known by God unless we have fruits. The second angel does not come announcing the retributions but instead the fall of Babylon at the end of the retributions. There is no specific timeline given for the preaching other than the generation will not pass away and that it parallels the five retributions. The second angel will not come until the gospel is preached Mark 13:10. Those who preach the gospel will have the gifts of the Spirit poured out Matthew 10. The gospel that is preached will reveal the truths that have been lost.

Matthew 10 is about preaching the gospel to the world. Matthew 10:1-4 makes many think this was for the time of Christ. Yet the disciples did not reach the world with the gospel during their lives. They did not reach the lost tribes of Israel in Matthew 10:6 nor did Christ return as it says in Matthew 10:23. The disciples did fulfill the first part of this prophecy by writing down Christ's words in the Bible that have been distributed throughout the world. They did preach the Gospel which has been since spread across the world. During the time of this first angel this prophecy will be fulfilled in full. The sick will be healed, the dead raised, and demons cast out. In Ezekiel 34:4 God says mainstream Christianity has not healed the sick. They have failed to preach the gospel and fulfill the signs of its preaching. There will be a great preaching of the gospel and a warning to the world to repent and turn back to God before the Great Tribulation is allowed to start.

No one knows the hour the thief comes Matthew 24:43.
Hour of the fifth retribution Revelation 18:10, Leviticus 26:31-33.
A literal hour in the first day of the Great Tribulation.

This is a Bible key that is used in many end time prophecies to remind us that Jesus Christ is our Savior. Jesus Christ is the creator John 1:1-17.