At the midway point of the Tribulation, the antichrist establishes his global kingdom.

How does he do that?

After the Abomination of Desolation, he’ll be the most feared man on the planet. The Abomination of Desolation is more than just the dragon pouring out his fury onto the people of Israel, but it also sends a chilling message to the people of the world: what happened at Jerusalem will happen to you if you don’t yield all your sovereignty to me.

The antichrist will tell the world that every nation must hand over their sovereignty to him, because he, as “God,” is going to be the new ruling authority over the planet. This is the ultimate supervillain bad guy move. The leaders of all the nations, like dominoes, will accede all ruling authority to the antichrist. They will do so because:

1. They’re desperate after all the judgments that have taken place,
2. They’re also powerless. They know they can’t defend themselves against the antichrist,
3. He just might be the solution to all their problems,
4. He is capable of healing himself (Rev. 13:3), which means that even if they tried to take him out, he can recover himself – so why try?
5. Perhaps he can use his healing powers to heal all of them, and
6. Even if they didn’t want to join him, who could possibly defeat him in a straight-up fight? He had just seemingly defeated the Two Witnesses.

However, there will likely be a few nations who resist giving up their sovereignty to him, and the antichrist will absolutely crush them. He will wipe them from the face of the Earth. I’m reminded of Dan 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it... The antichrist has these great iron teeth, which he uses to destroy and break up into pieces the nations that resist him, but after that, he will stomp the residue with his feet. If a nation refuses to join the antichrist’s empire, he won’t simply send armies to break them up as nations and destroy them. He will absolutely obliterate them. He will keep on stomping that nation until that nation has been utterly annihilated. What happened to the Jews in Jerusalem will happen to anyone else on Earth who refuses to yield all their sovereignty to him. He will keep on stomping that nation to the point where you wouldn’t even know that nation ever existed.

Let’s not forget, as well, that the foundation to this antichrist military power structure is his alliance with those ten other middle eastern kings, and they will now hold a new elevated leadership role over all the nations around the globe.

While all this is happening and the antichrist is establishing his new empire over the entire world, 3 angels will circle the globe, one right after the other, delivering 3 messages from God to all the people on planet Earth.

1^st Angel

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

The first thing John tells us is I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. I had encountered some, even mid-Acts writers, who disputed that this is actually an angel, because, they say, angels don’t give the gospel. Where in the Bible does it say angels cannot do that?

The gospel means good news and angels have delivered a lot of good news to mankind since the dawn of creation. Consider all the good news Gabriel gave to Daniel, or to John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, or to Mary, or the angel giving the good news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds watching their flock.

Well, the argument might go, angels don’t deliver THE gospel, THE good news that gets you saved. Paul said in Gal. 1:8, “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” Paul’s telling the Galatians it’s possible they might hear an angel give a gospel. I’m sure the argument against that would be it’s a figure of speech. What does that even mean? Are you saying that this expression, “angel from heaven” is a figure of speech talking about other men? Tell me. Where else in Scripture is a man ever called an angel? No where.

Not only that, but John told us that he saw another angel. Were not all the previous angels we read about in Revelation actual angels? John also wrote that he saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven. When was the last time you read about a human being flying in the midst of Heaven to give a gospel? Do you know what’s a harder pill to swallow? The idea that all the previous angels in the throne room of God that we read about in the book of Revelation weren’t actual angels, and that it’s a man flying in the midst of Heaven giving people the gospel. There’s absolutely no reason whatsoever to not accept at face value what the Word tells us here. God sent a real angel to give the gospel to all mankind.

We also learn in vs. 6 that the angel literally preaches to every soul on the planet. This angel preaches unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. A couple of criticisms I had received about my series on the End of the World in Chronological Order is that I was wrong to say that everything taking place in Revelation is global. They argue that everything in Revelation is localized to the Middle East only.

Mind if I give a little pushback? Consider, for example, Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. The gospel of the kingdom, which was before given to Israel only during the Lord’s earthly ministry, has now gone completely global. This gospel will be preached in all the world… unto all nations. If words have any meaning at all, this means that the gospel of the kingdom has gone global. Who’s going to be sharing that gospel? The 144,000, the Two Witnesses, and everyone who gets converted will share the gospel with others.

We’ve pointed out often, in the last half of Rev. 7 we encounter an innumerable amount of people from around the globe who got saved during the Tribulation. How did they get saved? Through the ministry of the 144,000 and the Two Witnesses. Make no mistake, the 144,000 WILL be evangelizing during the Tribulation. They’re the nucleus of the new nation of Israel, a nation that is to be God’s kingdom of priests, and the ones who are to be the instruments of God’s righteousness to the world! That kingdom of priests begins with the 144,000 acting as priests between man and God. Rev. 7 is cause and effect. The effect is that millions of Gentiles from around the globe get saved, and the cause is the 144,000.

Additionally, God’s judgments are global. When the sixth seal happens and the stars of Heaven fall, John tells us in Rev. 6:15 that all kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. That is talking about every soul on the planet. They all know that that’s part of the judgment of God because they will all say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

When the Two Witnesses are killed, John tells us in Rev 11:9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. Rev 11:10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another (why?); because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. Notice that the two prophets tormented every single person that dwelt on the earth. The ministry of Moses and Elijah was entirely global. Their judgments are global.

Make no mistake. The antichrist will not rule over the Middle East only. His kingdom will be over the entire globe. His kingdom is a global kingdom just like the other 3 beasts in Dan. 7. The new Babylon will be global just as the original Babylonian empire was global. Rev. 13:7 told us that power was given (unto) him (the antichrist) over ALL kindreds, and tongues, and nations. He means ALL kindreds, ALL tongues, and ALL nations. That is power over every single nation on the earth. Rev 13:8 told us, And ALL that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. Rev_18:3 also tells us For ALL nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

This is clearly a global kingdom effecting every nation, every king, and every merchant.

Plus, consider the fact, that the 3^rd angel is going to warn every soul on the planet about the consequences of taking the mark of the beast. Why does he do that? Because the antichrist’s empire is global. The mark of the beast is global, threatening the eternal destiny of every soul on the planet, which is precisely why these three angels will, one right after the other, circle the globe with these three crucial messages for the entire human race.

And this first message by this first angel is the Everlasting Gospel, given to him by God Himself to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. The gospel is global because the threat to their eternal destiny will be global in the form of the mark of the beast that’ll be implemented through the antichrist’s global Babylonian empire. This is why the first angel gives the entire world the everlasting gospel. Get saved right here, right now, because soon you will have to make a choice, and if you choose to take the mark, your soul will perish for all eternity. There’s no turning back after that.

So let’s first talk about the phrase everlasting gospel. What does that mean? A lot of commentaries will make the case that it’s everlasting because there is only one gospel and this one gospel has existed since the beginning of creation, which makes zero sense at all because that’s not what everlasting means. Everlasting does not mean that it has existed since the beginning of creation. And that is not how the Bible uses the word everlasting.

Everlasting has two definitions, according to Webster’s 1828, which perfectly mirrors how the Bible uses the word everlasting. God uses everlasting only in these two senses that Webster gives us. So, according to Webster, the first definition, as an adjective, means ever and lasting, enduring forever, existing or continuing without end, immortal, continuing indefinitely.

In other words, from this moment forward into eternity future. That’s everlasting. When Paul says in Rom. 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. When Paul says and the end everlasting life, does he mean a life that you always had since the beginning of creation? No, that’s not what everlasting means. What Paul is talking about is a life that lives on into eternity future. You’re now freed from sin. You’re now servants of God, and the end of your journey is everlasting life. That everlasting life became yours the moment you accepted Christ as your Savior. From the moment you believed, from that moment forward, your salvation will live on into eternity future. Your salvation endures forever. Your everlasting life becomes a reality when your physical life ends.

Consider what the Lord told Abraham in Gen. 17:7 And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. Does this mean that God’s covenant with Abraham was something he always had since the beginning of creation? That’s not what everlasting means. It means that from the moment God established His covenant with Abraham, from that moment forward, that covenant will be everlasting. That covenant will live on into eternity future. That covenant will endure forever.

There’s that famous verse in Psa. 90:2, “From everlasting to everlasting thou art God.” Why does the Psalmist say everlasting twice here? He means that from this moment going all the way back into eternity past, He was God, and from this moment going all the way into eternity future, He will be God. Everlasting to everlasting. Everlasting looking back and everlasting looking forward.

There is also another meaning to the word everlasting, as a noun. Webster says it also means eternity; eternal duration, past and future, and this sense of the word everlasting is ascribed only to God Himself. For example, we’d find in Gen. 21:33 that Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and called there on the name of the LORD, the everlasting God. He means God is immutable and eternal from eternity past into eternity future…

There are 97 usages of the word everlasting in the Bible. That word is only used in these two senses. 1) From this moment forward into eternity future makes it everlasting or 2) something has always existed from eternity past into eternity future. So to say that something is everlasting because it’s existed since the beginning of creation is not what the word means and that is never how the Bible uses the word everlasting.

So this angel proclaiming to everyone on the planet the everlasting gospel means that he’s offering good news in that moment for the people of the Earth that has eternal ramifications that will last into eternity future. If anyone accepts this gospel, from that moment forward, they will have eternal life, a life with God that is everlasting, a life that will carry on into eternity future. The good news is everlasting because their eternal life will be everlasting.

Here’s a question. Is the everlasting gospel different than the gospel of the kingdom? I would argue no. The everlasting gospel is synonymous with the gospel of the kingdom.

I found it fascinating that even in the 1800’s guys like William Kelly were arguing the same thing that the everlasting gospel is synonymous with the gospel of the kingdom. Again, the Lord said in Mat 24:14, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” What’s the end? The end of it all is the Second Coming of Christ. The Lord is literally saying that the gospel of the kingdom will be preached to the world throughout the entirety of the Tribulation until the Lord comes, which means that by logical necessity, the everlasting gospel has to be synonymous with the gospel of the kingdom.

How did someone get saved under the gospel of the kingdom? Consider Joh 20:31, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Or Joh 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” The Jews were to believe in the name of Christ. They were to believe that Christ was all He said He was, the Messiah, the Son of God.

Now consider what the angel says in his everlasting gospel to all the Gentiles around the globe. He says in Rev 14:7 “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.”

First, the angel says Fear God. I’d suggest this is fear in every sense of the word. Everyone’s afraid of the antichrist, and God is saying, “Oh no, you need to fear ME.” They should be afraid because His judgment is come. His judgment may result in eternal torment of the soul (Matt. 10:28). However, they should also fear Him in the sense of revering Him, which is fear mingled with respect and esteem and veneration. Veneration is the highest degree of respect and reverence you can have for something. This is respect mingled with awe, a feeling or sentiment excited by the dignity and superiority of God, as well as the sacredness of His character. They’re to fear Him, revere Him, venerate Him.

This is in contrast to everything they’ve heard and everything they’re told about the antichrist. They are not to fear that man. They are to fear the one true living God. They’re to acknowledge the one true living God, and they’re to come to Him in faith with awe and reverence and veneration.

The second thing the angel tells the world is to give glory to him. To give glory is to praise Him in adoration and honor. That fear, reverence, and veneration of the true God is to be acknowledged and expressed in the form of praise to God Himself. This is true faith expressed in worship to God.

And why should the people fear Him and give Him glory? Because the hour of his judgment is come. Here, we find the first reference to Christ specifically. The hour of HIS judgment is come. First, why does he say hour? I’d suggest that this gives the sense that time has almost run out for them. And he says, the hour of HIS judgment is come. And I do not doubt that everyone around the globe who hears this angel say HIS judgment will be convicted by the Spirit and they will know exactly who he is talking about – Christ Himself.

I mentioned earlier the sixth seal judgment when all the stars of Heaven fall and everyone ran for the hills. Remember what they said? They said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand? They knew back then that it was the Lord Himself who was causing all those judgments to happen, and they know now exactly who the angel is talking about when he says the hour of HIS judgment is come. The judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ is come. It’s happening. It’s here. Get right with God. Come to Him with faith in Christ, acknowledge by faith Christ as God. Revere Him. Glorify Him, and you will obtain eternal life.

Fascinating to me that without ever reading the word “faith” the entire content of the everlasting gospel is at heart a call to faith. You cannot fear Christ, or glorify Him, or worship Him, if you do not come to Him in faith accepting the fact that He is God. One writer described the everlasting gospel as a gospel of judgment, which is good news for believers but not for unbelievers, which makes no sense. This is good news for unbelievers, because this is their last chance to get saved, to avoid eternal condemnation before great tribulation takes place. This is God’s last chance reprieve to every unbelieving soul on the planet before His awful final seven judgments.

Finally, the angel says, and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. He’s very much dealing with these unbelievers where they are, just as Paul did on Mars’ Hill when he said in Act 17:24 “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth…” Paul began that sermon by appealing to something everyone knows is true deep down inside themselves, according to Rom. 1. They all know God exists. They all know that God created the universe. And they all know about His eternal power and Godhead because God manifested that within them. The angel is doing the same thing here with the everlasting gospel. He’s appealing to something everyone knows is true. God created the universe. What does the world know about OT prophecies about Christ being the Messiah of Israel? Not much. But they know that God in the person of Christ created the universe. So dealing with these Gentiles where they are, God is calling them to come to Him in faith by accepting His Son as God, as Creator, as Judge. Change your course. Acknowledge Him in faith. Revere Him. Praise Him. And God will grant you eternal life right here, right now, before His worst judgments will befall the world. Again, this is designed to counterattack all of Satan’s claims through the antichrist. The question here is who are you going to worship by faith? The antichrist or the true and living God who is your Creator and Judge?

I find the everlasting gospel to be absolutely brilliant. When we present the gospel to someone, we’re always careful to get the words right. We repeat the same things to make sure we’re accurate. But God can take a completely different approach with different words that results in the same substantive content that produces the same result – faith in Christ in who He is, which is the same result we get in the gospel of the kingdom – faith in Christ in who He is. The gospel of the kingdom doesn’t require verbatim identicality every time it’s presented. These different approaches produce the same result – faith in Christ in who He is. The everlasting gospel is of the same substances as the gospel of the kingdom and produces the same result in the Gentiles as it did with the Jews – faith in Christ in who He is. If they accept Jesus Christ as God by faith, then inevitably they should repent, change their thinking, and now that they’ve acknowledged Christ as God, they must fear Him, glorify Him, and worship Him. They are to merely accept Christ as God, as their Creator, which can only be done by faith, and once they do, then they must engage Him as all creatures should, which is to reverence their Creator, glorify their Creator, and worship their Creator. The everlasting Gospel is as much a call to faith as the gospel of the kingdom because in both, they are accepting Christ as the living God.

The everlasting gospel is an act of grace on God’s part toward all His enemies. Why? Because even in the Tribulation, God will have all men to be saved.

Distinctions Between the Gospels

Let’s look more at similarities between the kingdom and the everlasting gospel. In both presentations, we’re seeing a call to faith to accept Christ for all that He is. For the Jews, they were to accept Christ as the Messiah, the Son of God. They were to believe on the name of Christ. Remember how the Lord said in Joh 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

When the everlasting gospel is presented to all the Gentiles of the world, it’s a little more broad. They are to merely accept Christ as He is – as God, Creator, and Judge.

In both gospels, it’s still a call to faith, a call to accept Christ as He is, as the living God. In both gospels, there’s a call to repentance, to change their thinking because God is here. We don’t read the word “repent” in the everlasting gospel, but God is telling them to repent, to change their minds by saying that they need to fear God, praise Him, and worship Him. That is a call to repentance, to change one’s mind, without saying the word “repent.” Also embedded in both the gospel of the kingdom and the everlasting gospel is the fact of coming judgment. This goes all the way back to John the Baptist who told Israel to repent through water baptism because “he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matt. 3:11-12). Likewise, the angel tells the people of the world to change the course of their lives, to fear God, to worship Him (why?) because the hour of his judgment is come. God used a different approach to different people that has the same core message that produces the same results in both groups – faith in Christ for who He is.

Compare that to Paul’s gospel, the gospel of grace we preach now. Today, the message is that Christ was already judged at Calvary on our behalf for our sins. God made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. We’re to accept by faith not just who Christ is, but we’re to trust in Him and trust in the fact that His death, burial, and resurrection, was an all-sufficient payment for all our sins.

Of course, we tell people they will face judgment before God, that everyone is a sinner who needs redemption, and that Christ died for their sins, and now is the time to accept Christ as your Savior by faith because of what He accomplished on your behalf at Calvary. But we don’t tell people the hour of his judgment is come, which is what John the Baptist was saying and what the angel tells the world at the midway point of the tribulation. The message for us is, we’re all going to face judgment sometime, and you should be reconciled to God right here, right now by coming to Him in faith believing that He died, was buried, and rose again as an efficacious substitutionary atoning work for your sins.

However, for the prophetic program, the gospel is the same whether it’s during the Lord’s earthly ministry or during the Tribulation. God would impute His righteousness to people who come to Him in faith accepting who Christ is. If they got saved during the Lord’s earthly ministry, their sin issue would be paid later when Christ dies on the cross. If they get saved during the Tribulation, their sin issue has already been paid by Christ on the cross, but the means of obtaining that eternal life is still the same – accepting Christ by faith for who He is. Whether we’re talking about the Gospel period or the Tribulation, the means of their justification is the same – faith in Christ for who He is as the Son of God.

But Paul said, “I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved… how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day” (1 Cor. 15:1-4). We cannot afford to exclude His death, burial, and resurrection when we present the gospel to people today because we obtain our eternal life through our identification with His perfect work at Calvary as a payment for all our sins.