Revelation 12-15: The Fifth Facet

Week 7, Friday: The progress of the Gospel continues
Angels are involved in the work of the Gospel, and the Gospel may be something other than what you typically think of when that term is in view.

Read Revelation 14

Meditate on Revelation 14.6-13
1.      According to verse 9, how does the Gospel come, and to whom? But wait a second, aren’t these the same people who are caught up in all the tribulation and trouble going on in the world? What’s the message to the Church here?

2.      According to verse 7, what is the first requirement of the Gospel (cf. Deut. 10.12-16)? Is this really part of the Gospel? Why? Is it possible truly to believe God or to love Him if we don’t also fear Him? Explain.

3.      Meditate on verses 7-11, and compare this with Romans 1.18-32. How is judgment presented here? In final terms only? Is the world presently under God’s judgment? Should our proclamation of the Gospel include words of warning about judgment?

4.      The “patience of the saints” – as they continue in the Kingdom amid the tribulation of the world – is found just here, in the work of the Gospel. Compare verse 12 with Revelation 12.17 and 14.4, 5. What is the “patience” of the saints”? What, therefore, is the Good News?

5.      The saints who were truly in the Lord when they died (v. 13) are those who are distinguished as saints by their “labors” and “works” In what sense do the labors and works of true saints “follow them” (cf. Ps. 45.17; Matt. 28.18-20; 2 Tim. 2.2; Matt. 5.13-16)?

My Reflection
Based on what you’ve seen thus far in Revelation, write an outline of the Gospel as you might share it with someone in your Personal Mission Field?

The Glory of God
We don’t know exactly how God uses angels to help with the proclamation of the Gospel. But that He does is clear enough from our passage. How should this encourage you in your own work of making God’s Good News known?  

Glory to Glory
What “labors” and “works” will follow you at the end of this week? Are you planning for them now? Praying about them daily? Making the most of the opportunities presented to you (Eph. 5.15-17)?

Memorize
Review Revelation 12.10, 11. Write a prayer based on these verses.

Closing Prayer
Pray the prayer you wrote from your memory verses. Write it on a card and carry it with you to pray it over and over today. Pray it and keep praying it until you sense your hunger for God’s Word increasing.

T. M. Moore

The book of Revelation is the culminating episode in the story of God’s covenant. To learn more about that covenant, and to discover the way it integrates all of Scripture into the Gospel of Jesus Christ, order a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.