Mercy and the Everlasting Gospel_01: Blessed are the Merciful

“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. “ Matthew 24:14.

Before the end comes and Christ returns for the second time, Jesus foretold that the gospel would be carried to the entire world and that it would be witnessed by all nations.

Revelation 14:6-12 gives us a more detailed account of that gospel message.

“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,  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.” (verse 6-7)

The 2 main points to note from the texts are that:

1. The gospel message that is to go to every nation for a witness is a message which speaks about a judgement that is currently taking place. It must be carefully noted that since the gospel is preached before the end comes, then it means that this judgement which the gospel speaks of takes place before Christ’s coming. Those who live before the coming of Christ are living in the time of judgement.

2. The second point to note is the fact that the gospel message gives instruction on how to live in light of that judgement. Men are counselled to fear God, give glory to Him and worship Him because of the judgement which is taking place. These instructions are given as a guideline on how we can make it through the judgement.

(For a lovely, clear and detailed understanding of what “fearing God, giving glory, and true worship entails, I would highly recommend the following presentations by Ps. Stephen Bohr: 

• Fearing God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ul19SN4Fwk&list=PL6A480C40F7BA55A4
• How to give glory to God: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltDRq2Zc4nE&list=PL6A480C40F7BA55A4&index=4
• The Hour of His judgement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4Z0rAAWIMU&index=5&list=PL6A480C40F7BA55A4)

For now, with these points in mind, we may consider the words of James:

“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.“ James  2:12.

Here we are given the idea that those who are being judged are prescribed a certain way in which they are to order lives. This goes down to the very words and actions. That way of life is one which is to be in line with the law of liberty by which we are to be judged. The verse just prior this one (verse11) illustrates that it is referring to the 10 commandments, this law is the great standard in the judgement.

The verse which then follows gives a brief hint at what that life entails:

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shown no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.“ James 12:13.

Those who want to receive mercy in the time of Judgement must live a life in which they themselves show mercy to others. As Jesus states: “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy” Matt. 5:7. It thus follows that if satan wants to make sure that you and I  do not receive mercy in the time of judgement, that he would do all in his power make sure that we do not exercise mercy in our lives.

For this reason, it is very crucial to have a clear understanding of what mercy is and how we are to exercise it.

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.” Luke 6:36.

 A knowledge of God’s mercy is important; for the very same way God exercises mercy is the way in which we are to exercise it as those who wish to stand in the time of judgement (This idea shall be more closely dwelt on in the segment “Mercy and the Final Generation”).

What we want to do then throughout this series of studies is to understand the idea of mercy in 2 main respects:

1.       As it relates to the character of God, and how it is a crucial part of our salvation that demands our attention, and

2.       Having understood that, to show the obligation of mercy being a part of our own characters as those who are alive the hour of God’s judgement (as those hoping to also obtain mercy).

 

God bless :)

Mercy and the Everlasting Gospel_01: A Chief Characteristic of God

"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, 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." Revelation 14:6-7.

The everlasting gospel is a message warning of the judgement that is currently taking place. On account of the fact that we are living in the time of judgement, the angel instructs all men to fear God and to give glory to Him. To worship Him who created the universe. The instruction from heaven for men to fear God and to give Him glory to Him is an instruction on how one should live in order to make it past that judgement.  (The subject of the judgment is a study on its own), but just a brief idea to consider about the Judgement spoken of in Revelation 14:

In light of the fact that we are living in the time of judgement, the angel instructs man on how to live: to fear God and give glory to Him.

One will take a very brief look at what that means. In the gospel, men are called to reveal the character of God in their lives, to give glory to God.

In Exodus 33:18, Moses says to God “I beseech thee, show me your glory.”, God responds to Moses by telling him that “I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord.”(v.19) What we can grasp from this is that when God was to make His goodness pass before Moses, and proclaim His name before Him, God would be showing Moses His glory. That is to say that God’s glory, His goodness and His name are the same.   

In the next chapter God eventually does show Moses His glory. We read these words:

“And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD.  And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear [the guilty]; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth [generation].” Exodus  34:5-7

When God passed by before Moses, in making His goodness pass before Moses and proclaiming “the name of the LORD”, God was showing Moses His glory. In doing this, God declares certain attributes about Himself that make up His character; the fact that He is merciful, gracious, longsuffering/patient and just etc… all of these attributes define Gods character. Thus we may understand that Gods glory, that which makes up His goodness and His name, is none other than the very character of God

So to put these thoughts together, in the everlasting gospel (Revelation 14:6-7), when the angel is calling men to fear God, and give glory to Him because they are living in the time of judgement, the angel is saying to man that if we are to pass the judgement, we are to have the character that is like that of God. God’s glory, His character, must be manifest in the lives of those who desire to be able to stand through God’s judgement and review of their lives. This character of God can be revealed through no other means than obedience to His commandments, the great standard of righteousness, for when "the heavens declare his righteousness... all the people see his glory." Psalms 97:6

 I can summarise this part by pointing to the fact that this can only be experienced through the indwelling of Christ in the heart  by the presence of His Spirit, through total surrender to Him. "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27) .Without Jesus finding a dwelling place in the heart, we have no hope of glory.

We want to then consider one aspect of the character of God in this series, the one which He mentions first: the attribute of mercy. God, in proclaiming His name says of Himself that He is “the LORD God, merciful…” Mercy is the first and among the chief characteristics of God. As a part of what it means to give glory to God, and for God’s character to be manifest in our own, it is thus vital to understand Gods mercy. For God to fully reveal His character to the universe, His mercy must also be plainly manifest.

Questions one may ponder: What is the role/ importance of mercy? How does mercy relate to one’s salvation? What is mercy? What does it look like in practice? Why is God merciful? Why must we manifest mercy? How is God merciful? How are we to be merciful…? How does mercy and justice relate? Mercy and the great controversy? These are some of the ideas to be discussed.

Mercy and the Everlasting Gospel: Introduction

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. “ Matthew 23:23

In pronouncing His woes to the Pharisees, Jesus makes plain to them that mercy, together with judgement and faith, is among the weightier matters of the law. One has observed that mercy is a part of God’s character which, though often mentioned, is really lightly considered.  I'll be posting a series of short studies which are really a collection of notes from one’s personal study on the topic. One has really been blessed much in the realisation of a part of God’s character very unfamiliar to some (at least to me personally before the study).

The studies have been structured in a series of brief portions or thought nuggets to make for easy reading. One is still learning of the lovely character of Jesus and thus there is possibly much room for additions to points, but they are shared with the hope that they will bless the reader as much as (if not more) than the one posting.

“He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” Micah 6:8.