From simple biblical reasoning, every Christian knows that at some point in human history, Jesus will return to this earth, as promised in John 14:1-3. His coming is foretold in all the Gospels, and the details are presented in the book of Revelation. The sequence of events preceding His coming is detailed in Matthew Chapter 24. In Revelation 22, Jesus presents a time deadline when human probation will close:
“He that is filthy, let him be filthy still; he that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
God’s Final Call: The Everlasting Gospel
Before the close of human probation, God, who loves us and is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance,” as the apostle Peter wrote, permits a final declaration of the Gospel to ensure that whoever desires can find eternal life by receiving Jesus as Lord and Savior.
In keeping with that objective, Jesus provides a last call version of the Gospel, known as the Everlasting Gospel. This version is found only once in the entire Bible. In Revelation 14:6-7, we see an angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the Everlasting Gospel to preach “to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.” No one is excluded; Jews and Gentiles alike receive the Gospel call to obedience.
The Three Commands of the Everlasting Gospel
In verse 7 of Revelation 14, the Everlasting Gospel is presented. What is unusual about this last call Gospel is that it is not a declaration of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, as many would expect. Instead, it presents a series of three commands:
- Fear God.
- Give Him glory.
- Worship God as the Creator.
Why does the Last Call Gospel issue commands instead of focusing on the cross and atonement for sin? The answer lies in the fact that 6,000 years of human probationary time have nearly run out, and the urgency of the plan of redemption necessitates action from those who desire to be saved.
The First Command: Fear God
The Bible defines what it means to fear God in Ecclesiastes 12:13-14:
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil.”
Two things become immediately evident about fearing God. First, it is connected with keeping God’s commandments. Many Christians today dismiss the commandments of God, and some pastors even preach that the Ten Commandments were nailed to the cross, making obedience unnecessary. However, one of those commandments says, “Thou shalt not steal.” If the commandments were indeed abolished, then it should be acceptable to steal a pastor’s car without consequences—yet we know this is not true.
Secondly, fearing God is connected with judgment, as God will hold every deed, whether public or secret, accountable in the final judgment.
The Second Command: Give Glory to God
The glory of God is His character, and this command calls us to reflect His love and character in our lives. This transformation can only happen, as the prophet Zechariah said, “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.”
We give Him glory by manifesting His love and goodness to others through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts and minds daily.
The Third Command: Worship God as the Creator
The third command in Revelation 14:7 is to worship God, who made the heavens, the earth, the seas, and the fountains of waters. This is a direct command to worship God as the Creator of all things. This command is taken almost verbatim from the Fourth Commandment, the Sabbath Commandment of Exodus 20.
You may ask, “Don’t all Christians worship God as the Creator?” Not necessarily, since God has specified both when and how He is to be worshiped. Most Christians do not worship God in the way He has prescribed.
The Fourth Commandment states:
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.”
It does not say the seventh day is the Jewish Sabbath, as many assert. It is the Sabbath of the Lord our God. It belongs to Him because He created it. In Genesis 2, we see that God rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and sanctified it. It is holy because God invested Himself in that day.
The seventh-day Sabbath is not Jewish, for when God made the Sabbath, there were no Jews in Eden—only Adam and Eve, the progenitors of the entire human race. Therefore, the Sabbath cannot be Jewish.
How Did Sunday Worship Begin?
Given that the Sabbath was established at creation for the worship of God, this raises a question: How did Sunday worship become part of the Christian church?
The practice of worshiping on Sunday emerged in the second and third centuries A.D. Roman Catholicism specifically asserts that the Roman Church changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week—the day we call Sunday. Sunday does not appear in the Bible because it is a pagan name, associated with the day pagans worshiped the sun god Baal and later Tammuz.
The practice of sun worship infiltrated the Christian church. Although Roman Catholics claim church authority for this change, Protestants attempt to justify Sunday worship by citing Jesus’ resurrection on the first day of the week. However, this reasoning is flawed, as there is no biblical commandment to worship on Sunday in honor of the resurrection. In the absence of such a command, we are called to worship God on the day He designated—the seventh-day Sabbath.
The Final Choice
At the end of time, when the Everlasting Gospel of Revelation 14 is proclaimed, we are commanded to worship God as the Creator. If we love Him, we will keep His commandments, just as Jesus said.
What about you? Will you obey God’s commandment or follow Roman Catholicism and worship on the pagan day dedicated to the sun god Baal? The choice is yours. Soon, those who obey God’s commandments and have the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14:12) will face persecution for their convictions.
The final choice will be between worshiping the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11) or worshiping God as Creator and Redeemer. God has given us the ability to choose. My prayer is that you will choose to keep His commandments.
Revelation 12 states that the devil, the dragon, is angry with the woman—the last church, the remnant church. Why is he angry with the remnant church? Because they keep the commandments of God and have the prophetic gift in their midst (see Revelation 19:10).
May God give you the courage to keep His commandments and receive the faith of Jesus.
Notably, God did not call it the “Jewish Sabbath.” Why? Because when the Sabbath was instituted in Eden, there were no Jews—only Adam and Eve, the ancestors of all humanity.
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