What is the gospel?
The Greek word that we translate as gospel is euaggelion. The Old English word from which gospel derives is godspel. Both terms mean the same thing. The gospel is “good news.”
In John’s vision (Rev. 14:6-13), an angel flies in midair, loudly proclaiming “an eternal gospel…to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.” Whatever else the gospel is, it is not the exclusive property of a select group of people. It is God’s good news, which he communicates to all people, to the entire human creation he made in his image and loves dearly.
Now, the gospel that the angel loudly proclaims does not seem to be good news, at least not at first. It begins with a difficult command: “Fear God.” It then explains why such fear is necessary: “because the hour of his judgment has come.” Oh sure, John appends two more positive commands—“give him glory” and “worship him”—but it is difficult to get past that first verb: fear. How can a commandment to fear God because of impending judgment be good news?
Well, it all depends on which side of the judgment you end up, of course! Much of the book of Revelation to this point has narrated the suffering of the saints under a demonically inspired and persecuting government. For such saints on the receiving end of the stick, divine judgment means an end to persecution and an entrance into God’s eternal rest: “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
For those on the giving end of the stick, however, divine judgment means an end to their wicked ways and a punishment thoroughly deserved. That punishment is what two other angels announce in verses 8–11: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great….” And it is horrible: “the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest.”
In other words, the gospel announces the promise of heaven and the peril of hell and invites all people to make a choice between the two. Although the imperative “fear God” seems fearsome—as if we had to have a phobia of God to enter heaven—in reality, it should not be disconnected from “give him glory” and “worship him.” Fear is simply that deeply felt reverence for God that Proverbs 1.7 says is “the beginning of knowledge.” To fear God is to glorify and worship him in all one’s heart, mind, soul, and strength (Matt. 22.37, cf. Deut. 6.5).
So, we face a decision: Heaven or hell? The good news is that God makes it possible for all people to enter heaven, if we but love him with worshipful reverence. He gives us that choice.
Today, what do you choose?
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