Words of Hope…
With that great day approaching, the Word of God calls His
people to turn to Him with repentance:
“The day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand.” “Consecrate
a fast, call a sacred assembly; gather the people, sanctify the congregation, assemble the elders, gather the children…. Let the priests, who minister to the Lord, weep between the porch and the altar.” “‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return
to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness.” (Joel 2:1, 15-17, 12, 13.)
To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, there was a great
work of reform to be done. In His mercy God was about to send a
message to awaken those who claimed to be His people and lead
them to get ready for the coming of the Lord.
We find this warning in Revelation 14. Here is a three-part
message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings and followed immediately by the Son of man’s coming to reap “the harvest of
the earth” (Revelation 14:15). The prophet saw an angel “flying
in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to
those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and
people—saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him,
for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made
heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water’” (Revelation 14:6,
7).
This message is a part of “the everlasting gospel.” God has
entrusted the work of preaching to us. Holy angels direct, but the
servants of Christ on earth actually proclaim the gospel.*
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Source: Ellen G. White, The Great Hope, pp. 66-67.
*For a more detailed account of this message and of those who began to proclaim it, see The Great Controversy, chapters 17 and 18, and subsequent chapters that develop the issues further.