Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people.
John’s fantastical vision continues with talk of a woman giving birth, the sign of the beast, 144,000 virgins, and Michael slaying the dragon. Most of the imagery is of bad things, some which temporarily win, many of which are defeated. In the midst of all that chaos, John sees another angel with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth. Aah. Just reading that in the midst of all the other scenes was refreshing.
That feels to me like modern life. There’s lots of chaos, fantastical stories of guns in schools, police killing unarmed men, racial tensions, climate crisis, hunger – the list could go on for too long. I don’t understand it all, and like reading Revelation, am numbed by the narrative.
And then, in the midst of all of that, I am again reminded of the eternal gospel. Jesus was fully God and fully human, lived like I do or at least like I try to, and eventually returned to God with all of our humanness. Christ’s resurrection and ascension brought about a new way of living – a way without all of the tribulations of modern life.
As a Christian, I am called by the Gospel to Love God and Love my Neighbor. I’m called to a radical new kind of living that is not what the rest of the world values. It’s the Good News of Jesus that lets me carry on. Maybe I cannot single-handedly stop any of the trials in my world. With other people of faith, I have a better chance. And by myself – with the eternal good news – I can Love God and Love my Neighbor. Maybe that’s enough.
A beautiful and necessary message. I’m looking forward to Carter Hawley’s first published book♥️
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