Eternal Choice-Lent 22, 2022

Some choices you can walk back pretty easily.
You buy. You regret. You return. Simple enough.

Not so the eternal choice which comes with an expiration date
and a point of no return.

Revelation 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of rushing waters and like a loud peal of thunder. The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps. 3 And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb. 5 No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.

Theologians all agree that those purchased by the Lamb are exemplary and sing a new song of the redeemed. On this next verse, there is far less agreement.

Revelation 14:6 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. 7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

What is this eternal Gospel that doesn’t specifically name Jesus?
Is the angel preaching it to the unredeemed as one last chance?
Or is the eternal Gospel not actual salvation offered but only as evidence for judgment?

The arguments delve into the pixelated view which defeats the purpose.

We are not at that point of no return…yet.
Maybe it’s in Scripture as a warning that God’s gracious offer expires.
For some, it’s warning for their death before Christ’s return
and others who will die to face Judgment.

Maybe the answer of salvation or Judgment is “yes,” holding them both in tension. If there was one last chance for those who have no intention of taking God up on it…wouldn’t that just be added evidence for Judgment Day? I think it’s fair to say that the Gospel cuts both ways and its function, in this instance, is determined by each person’s response. It leads to eternal life were any to have accepted it, or its rejection leads to eternal damnation.

Perhaps it’s like Romans 12:19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 On the contrary: ‘If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.’ 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

The big picture is the Gospel has been offered to all,
no indication follows that anyone loved God and was saved.
Rather the nations (so blindly engaged in idolatry and so drunk on sensual pleasures) were discovering what they truly loved was now somehow fallen.

The party’s over. There is no after-party,
and the hangover is one helluva doozy.

Revelation 14:8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”

Thoughts for today:

What is Babylon the Great? Big picture: the allure of rejecting God to pursue a godless life.

How is Babylon the Great fallen? What Babylon is or was or represents is speculation, therefore how it’s fallen is a mystery. Remember this is still in the future. Big picture: The identity is a mystery. Her outcome is not. She falls and fails.

The Eternal Gospel (the New Covenant cup of Christ) … or … “Babylon’s wine of adulteries” which comes with “wine of God’s fury”—is the choice really that hard? It’s not like Indiana Jones and the Holy Grail where it’s a movie and guess-and-check, but here in Revelation, the Eternal Choice is clearly offered.

As much as people might prefer the idea that, at Judgment, one just ceases to exist (i.e., annihilationism), this passage offers no chance for that.

Revelation 14:9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, 10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.” 12 This calls for patient endurance on the part of the people of God who keep his commands and remain faithful to Jesus.

Worshiping the beast and its image, receiving the “mark of its name,” by choice or by force leading to capitulation, does not lead to a happy ending. Don’t do it.

Patient. Endurance. Overcoming! You’ve been warned. Please, friends, choose like saints.

===

If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.