The gospel of Jesus Christ will reach every person before Jesus comes. John said, "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." (Revelation 14:6)
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)
What gospel will be preached into all the world before the end of salvation comes? The eternal gospel of Jesus Christ is this: All people have sinned and come short of the glory of God (everyone has violated God’s Ten Commandments at some point in time) therefore, God’s law condemns us to death (the wages of sin is death).
The good news is that Jesus took our place on the cross and paid the price for our sins. If we obediently submit to God’s commandments and put our faith in Jesus for salvation, we will be saved. Look at salvation from God’s perspective.
Many people honestly live up to all they know to be right and Jesus understands this. In His great mercy, He accepts everyone who is sincere in heart even though they may not know or understand the great truths of the gospel. Jesus does not hold a person responsible for truth he does not know or cannot know.
On the contrary, James tells us that sin is held against us when we know better and then refuse to do it. "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins."
(James 4:17)
(James 4:17)
The Lord loves the people of Earth with a love beyond human understanding. He died for every one of us. People who live up to all they know to be right glorify God and He is pleased with them. Peter says, "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." (1 Peter 3:12)
Because the devil is extremely intelligent, Satan has cleverly obscured God’s truth from most of the world, but Jesus will soon remove the veil of ignorance that covers the gospel. People who are sincere in heart will rejoice to learn more, and they will embrace the gospel as it reveals more about the will of our Creator and Savior. Thus, a remnant from all religious systems will be gathered into one body under the leadership of King Jesus.
Jesus said, "I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd."
(John 10:16)
(John 10:16)
So, the net effect of the gospel in the last days will be to save and unify all people who hear and respond to the voice of Jesus. Jesus will accomplish this ingathering of His sheep during the 1,260 day time period allotted for the seven trumpets by separating His sheep from the goats over the issue of worship. (Matthew 25:31-46) People will either receive the gospel and through faith, obey the commandments of Jesus or they will reject the gospel and eventually choose the mark of the beast. The controversy over worship will remove all middle ground.
As we might expect, Satan has a counterfeit gospel. The devil has led many people to believe that salvation comes either through perfect obedience to God (as in human performance) or by intellectual assent to what is true. Satan’s deceptions are very subtle. He has led many evil people to think they are righteous when they are far from it. Nevertheless, the Bible is clear, the righteousness necessary for salvation is not found on Earth.
"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’. . . . This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (Romans 1:17; 3:22-24)
Satan ever leads people astray and away from God. The Pharisees thought they were righteous in God’s sight even though they were not a part of the kingdom of God. Jesus said, ". . . on the outside you [Pharisees] appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness .
. . For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 23:28; 5:20) The Pharisees were known for their love of self righteousness. They could not see their own sins but they could see sin in a sinless Jesus. (John 9:16)
Isn’t it ironic that religion can lead a person to condemn God and justify self. This is ever the human dilemma. Religion tends to blind people to their true condition in God’s sight. Given enough time, all religions eventually distort the truth about God – history proves this is the way of mankind.
God is pleased when we love to do what is right, but contrary to what the Pharisees believed, right doing does not save us. So, how are we saved? We are saved through faith in Jesus. True worship stems from a Spirit given desire to please God. (John 4:23-24) True worship includes doing all that we understand God wants us to do, not to be saved, but to please God.
The worship of Jesus Christ is the way to salvation and this is why God’s final test of mankind centers on worship. (John 10:7; 14:6) People who worship God with all their heart, mind and soul are willing to go, to be and to do all that God requires.
Jesus has designed the events of the Great Tribulation so that only those who love and trust Him completely will be able to worship Him on His holy day. "The just will live by faith." True worshipers worship God in Spirit and in Truth. All who worship God are given the righteousness necessary for salvation and the amazing aspect of this is that salvation is free. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus said, ". . . every good tree bears good fruit, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." (Matthew 7:17-18) A counterfeit gospel causes sinners to think they are righteous. The carnal heart will say one thing in public, but do evil in secret.
Jesus said, "Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:20-21)
So, we must test ourselves from time to time to see if we are in Christ. Paul wrote, "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you – unless, of course, you fail the test?" (2 Corinthians 13:5)
It never ceases to amaze me that so many Christians scoff at the suggestion that the Lord will return at the appointed time. (Revelation 9:15) They see no reason for this warning message. They say, "All things continue as usual – why all the fuss?" Unfortunately, these people have become content in their spiritual poverty. They have put blinders on and inserted earplugs because they are comfortable and do not want to hear about God’s plan.
Many Christians follow after religious programming, the entertainment gospel presented by talented singers and gifted speakers with clever ideas. They do not want to hear about the cross they will bear during the time of God’s wrath.
Before we can wear a crown, we have to carry the cross.
Millions of people believe in a pretribulation rapture. Satan has convinced many Christians they are safe from the scenes described in Revelation. This terrible deception is widely accepted because it is so easy to swallow. It is time for Christians to wake up and understand that Revelation will be fulfilled.
People who truly understand Revelation’s story are not focused on gloom or doom. Instead, they are focused on the greatest and most awesome event in Earth’s history: The revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ during the Great Tribulation and His physical appearing at the Second Coming.
We need to know that a testing time, a purifying time is coming, and it precedes the Second Coming. We need to know about the rise of Babylon and the appearing of Satan claiming to be God. We need to know about World War III and Armageddon. And we need to fill our hearts and minds with God’s Word because our faith in God will be fully tested in the time to come.
We have every reason to be positive about our relationship with Jesus for it is this relationship that fills our hearts with peace and joy. "For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." (1 John 5:4-5)
Believers in Christ have a wonderful opportunity to become overcomers for Christ. We carry God’s promises within our hearts and listen to His voice because we "have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to us." Believers walk by faith, not by sight.
While there is still time, seek the Lord. God will show us what He wants. (Proverbs 3:5-6) So, learn to live by faith now. Worship the Creator. Keep God’s Sabbath holy. Doing so will provide a whole day each week to study God’s Word. Put your confidence in God and watch what He will do through you and for you.
The ultimate test of having a relationship with Jesus is being able to hear His voice. Jesus said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." (John 10:27)
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