Maranatha - When Jesus was born

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem...there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? Matt. 2:1, 2.

The King of glory stooped low to take humanity; and angels, who had witnessed His splendour in the heavenly courts, as He was worshiped by all the heavenly hosts, were disappointed to find their divine Commander in a position of so great humiliation. 11.1

The Jews had separated themselves so far from God by their wicked works, that angels could not communicate to them the tidings of the advent of the infant Redeemer. God chooses the wise men of the East to do His will.... 11.2

These wise men had seen the heavens illuminated with light, which enshrouded the heavenly host who heralded the advent of Christ to the humble shepherds.... 11.3

This light was a distant cluster of flaming angels, which appeared like a luminous star. The unusual appearance of the large bright star, which they had never seen before, hanging as a sign in the heavens, attracted their attention....The wise men directed their course where the star seemed to lead them. And as they drew nigh to the city of Jerusalem, the star was enshrouded in

2

darkness, and no longer guided them. They reasoned that the Jews could not be ignorant of the great event of the advent of the Messiah, and they made inquiries in the vicinity of Jerusalem. 11.4

The wise men are surprised to see no unusual interest upon the subject of the coming of the Messiah....They marvel that the Jews are not interested and joyful in prospect of this great event of the advent of Christ. 11.5

The churches of our time are seeking worldly aggrandizement, and are as unwilling to see the light of the prophecies, and receive the evidences of their fulfilment which show that Christ is soon to come, as were the Jews in reference to His first appearing. They were looking for the temporal and triumphant reign of Messiah in Jerusalem. Professed Christians of our time are expecting the temporal prosperity of the church, in the conversion of the world, and the enjoyment of the temporal millennium. 11.6 

The controlling power of appetite

The controlling power of appetite will prove the ruin of thousands, when, if they had conquered on this point, they would have had moral power to gain the victory over every other temptation of Satan. But those who are slaves to appetite will fail in perfecting Christian character. The continual transgression of man for six thousand years has brought sickness, pain, and death as its fruits. And as we near the close of time, Satan's temptation to indulge appetite will be more powerful and more difficult to overcome.

-- Counsels on Diet and Foods, page 59

Possibly this text may not apply to one in a thousand of the readers (Isaiah 66:5)

 Hear the Word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his guard; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. (Isaiah 66:5)

Possibly this text may not apply to one in a thousand of the readers of this little book of promises; but the Lord cheers that one in such words as these. Let us pray for all such as are cast out wrongfully born the society which they love. May the Lord appear to their joy!

The text applies to truly gracious men who tremble at the word of the Lord. These were hated of their brethren and at length cast out because of their fidelity and their holiness. This must have been very bitter to them; and all the more so because their casting out was done in the name of religion, and professedly with the view of glorifying God. How much is done for the devil in the name of God! The use of the name of Jehovah to add venom to the bite of the old serpent is an instance of his subtlety.

The appearing of the Lord for them is the hope of His persecuted people. He appears as the advocate and defender of His elect; and when He does so it means a clear deliverance for the God-fearing and shame for their oppressors. O Lord, fulfill this word to those whom men are deriding!

Possibly this text may not apply to one in a thousand of the readers (Isaiah 66:5)

 Hear the Word of the Lord, ye that tremble at his guard; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the Lord be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed. (Isaiah 66:5)

Possibly this text may not apply to one in a thousand of the readers of this little book of promises; but the Lord cheers that one in such words as these. Let us pray for all such as are cast out wrongfully born the society which they love. May the Lord appear to their joy!

The text applies to truly gracious men who tremble at the word of the Lord. These were hated of their brethren and at length cast out because of their fidelity and their holiness. This must have been very bitter to them; and all the more so because their casting out was done in the name of religion, and professedly with the view of glorifying God. How much is done for the devil in the name of God! The use of the name of Jehovah to add venom to the bite of the old serpent is an instance of his subtlety.

The appearing of the Lord for them is the hope of His persecuted people. He appears as the advocate and defender of His elect; and when He does so it means a clear deliverance for the God-fearing and shame for their oppressors. O Lord, fulfill this word to those whom men are deriding!

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7)

Note well that we must hear Jesus speak if we expect Him to hear us speak. If we have no ear for Christ, He will have no ear for us. In proportion as we hear we shall be heard.

Moreover, what is heard must remain, must live in us, and must abide in our character as a force and a power. We must receive the truths which Jesus taught, the precepts which He issued, and the movements of His Spirit within us; or we shall have no power at the Mercy Seat.

Suppose our Lord's words to be received and to abide in us, what a boundless field of privilege is opened up to us! We are to have our will in prayer, because we have already surrendered our will to the Lord's command. Thus are Elijahs trained to handle the keys of heaven and lock or loose the clouds. One such man is worth a thousand common Christians. Do we humbly desire to be intercessors for the church and the world, and like Luther to be able to have what we will of the Lord? Then we must bow our ear to the voice of the Well-beloved, treasure up His words, and carefully obey them. He has need to "hearken diligently" who would pray effectually.

The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us. (Psalm 115:12)

The Lord hath been mindful of us: he will bless us. (Psalm 115:12)

I can set my seal to that first sentence. Cannot you? Yes, Jehovah has thought of us, provided for us, comforted us, delivered us, and guided us. In all the movements of His providence He has been mindful of us, never overlooking our mean affairs. His mind has been full of us--that is the other form of the word mindfull. This has been the case all along and without a single break. At special times, however, we have more distinctly seen this mindfulness, and we would recall them at this hour with overflowing gratitude. Yes, yes, "the Lord hath been mindful of us."

The next sentence is a logical inference from the former one. Since God is unchangeable, He will continue to be mindful of us in the future as He has been in the past; and His mindfulness is tantamount to blessing us. But we have here not only the conclusion of reason but the declaration of inspiration; we have it on the Holy Ghost's authority--"He will bless us." This means great things and unsearchable. The very indistinctness of the promise indicates its infinite reach. He will bless us after His own divine manner, and that forever and ever, Therefore, let us each say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul!"

Proverbs 24:30-34

Proverbs 24:30-34

(30) I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; 
(31) And there it was, all overgrown with thorns; 
Its surface was covered with nettles; 
Its stone wall was broken down. 
(32) When I saw it, I considered it well; 
I looked on it and received instruction: 
(33) A little sleep, a little slumber, 
A little folding of the hands to rest; 
(34) So shall your poverty come like a prowler, 
And your need like an armed man. 

A person who is lazy lacks understanding. He is ignorant of what is happening. This person is not keeping his property in good condition, and so entropy is pulling it into a state of disorganization. That is the way of all material things. He is not doing enough to overcome inertia.

Proverbs has much to say about laziness. It does not matter whether the laziness is in physical or spiritual endeavors. The point here is that little or nothing will be produced by the slothful person.

Many people conquer laziness concerning physical things, such as business matters. I once heard a radio interview of a millionaire many times over who had become that way through a scheme that he took advantage of. It was perfectly legal; there was nothing wrong with it that way. This man said in response to a question, "You don't become rich being lazy. It takes hard work." That is what this passage in Proverbs 24 is saying.

We want to be spiritually rich. We want our relationships to be rich and to produce the right things, so to achieve this will require a good deal of effort on our parts. Secular people learn these principles and put them to work in business, and they prosper as a result of it. However, they avoid making the same effort in spiritual matters.

In the church, this lack of effort produces Laodiceanism. The Laodicean is rich and increased with goods, which means that he is doing all right in the business world, but he is not paying much attention to the spiritual. He is not using the same principles in regard to spiritual things that he does to physical things. Thus, he becomes reasonably well-off materially, but God says that, spiritually, he is wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Revelation 3:17).

We need this instruction from Proverbs because what we see in these verses will produce Laodiceanism in us unless we fight against it and overcome it.

Some day, somewhere, someone, will understand the "everlasting gospel"

Some day, somewhere, someone, will understand the "everlasting gospel" of Jesus Christ so clearly that "another angel" will come down from heaven "having great power" and will "lighten the earth" with the glory of that full-orbed truth. Multitudes who now sit in darkness will see a great light and will come to it (Rev. 18:1-4; Matt. 4:16).

It won't be only "some one" who understands; there will be many who are in heartfelt union around the world, of "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people" (Rev. 14:6). No more theological squabbles! That unity will be as much a miracle as the insight of that "some one" who will see crystal clear what the gospel is with no contradicting confusion.

That unity will be in fulfillment of the prayer of Jesus in John 17, "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word: that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I [am] in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me" (vss. 20, 21). "The world" will not believe until they see that "one-ness."

Those who will understand the gospel and be in union will receive "the seal of God in their foreheads" (Rev. 7:1-4), obviously a symbol of a heart understanding of truth that has also gripped the understanding of the mind. They will have pondered and studied; and they will believe Jesus' promise, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

They will graduate out of old covenant living into the bright sunlight of the new. The old covenant will no longer produce "bondage" in them, but they will "stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free" (Gal. 5:1). They will overcome where ancient Israel stumbled and fell. Instead of crucifying Christ "again" and "put[ting] Him to an open shame" (Heb. 6:6), they will surrender self to be "crucified with Christ" (Gal. 2:20).

As soon as they receive "the seal of God" and "follow the Lamb" (the crucified and risen "Savior of the world"), the enemy will launch against them his "mark of the beast" in an attempt to frighten them into submission (Rev. 13:16, 17). But "perfect love" (agape) has at last "cast out fear" (1 John 4:18) and they are seated with Christ on His throne to bring to a triumphant close "the great controversy" with Satan (Rev. 3:21).

But must this glorious triumph of the gospel await a future generation? Are there some out there who long to see the victory come now?

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. (Job 22:23)

If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up. (Job 22:23)

Eliphaz, in this utterance, spoke a great truth, which is the summary of many an inspired Scripture. Reader, has sin pulled you down? Have you become like a ruin? Has the hand of the Lord gone out against you so that in estate you are impoverished and in spirit you are broken down? Was it your own folly which brought upon you all this dilapidation? Then the first thing to be done is to return to the Lord. With deep repentance and sincere faith find your way back from your backsliding. It is you" duty, for you have turned away from Him whom you professed to serve. It is your wisdom, for you cannot strive against Him and prosper. It is your immediate necessity, for what He has done is nothing compared to what He may do in the way of chastisement, since He is Almighty to punish.

See what a promise invites you! You shall be "built up." None but the Almighty can set up the fallen pillars and restore the tottering walls of your condition; but He can and He will do it if you return to Him. Do not delay. Your crushed mind may quite fail you if you go on to rebel; but hearty confession will ease you, and humble faith will console you. Do this, and all will be well.

And ye shall go forth, and grew up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

And ye shall go forth, and grew up as calves of the stall. (Malachi 4:2)

Yes, when the sun shines, the sick quit their chambers and walk abroad to breathe the fresh air. When the sun brings spring and summer, the cattle quit their stalls and seek pasture on the higher Alps. Even thus, when we have conscious fellowship with our Lord, we leave the stall of despondency and walk abroad in the fields of holy confidence. We ascend to the mountains of joy and feed on sweet pasturage which grows nearer heaven than the provender of carnal men.

To "go forth" and to "grow up" is a double promise. O my soul, be thou eager to enjoy both blessings! Why shouldst thou be a prisoner? Arise, and walk at liberty. Jesus saith that His sheep shall go in and out and find pasture; go forth, then, and feed in the rich meadows of boundless love.

Why remain a babe in grace? Grow up. Young calves grow fast, especially if they are stall fed; and thou hast the choice care of thy Redeemer. Grow, then, in grace and in knowledge of thy Lord and Savior, Be neither straitened nor stunted. The Sun of Righteousness has risen upon thee Answer to His beams as the buds to the natural sun. Open thine heart; expand and grow up into Him in all things.

"Your heavenly Father."-Matthew 6:26

"Your heavenly Father."-Matthew 6:26

God's people are doubly His children, they are His offspring by creation, and they are His sons by adoption in Christ. Hence they are privileged to call Him, "Our Father which art in heaven." Father! Oh, what precious word is that. Here is authority: "If I be a Father, where is mine honour?" If ye be sons, where is your obedience? Here is affection mingled with authority; an authority which does not provoke rebellion; an obedience demanded which is most cheerfully rendered-which would not be withheld even if it might. The obedience which God's children yield to Him must be loving obedience. Do not go about the service of God as slaves to their taskmaster's toil, but run in the way of His commands because it is your Father's way. Yield your bodies as instruments of righteousness, because righteousness is your Father's will, and His will should be the will of His child. Father!-Here is a kingly attribute so sweetly veiled in love, that the King's crown is forgotten in the King 's face, and His sceptre becomes, not a rod of iron, but a silver sceptre of mercy-the sceptre indeed seems to be forgotten in the tender hand of Him who wields it. Father!-Here is honour and love. How great is a Father's love to his children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not attempt, a father's heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his offspring, he must bless them; they are his children, he must show himself strong in their defence. If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father? Abba, Father! He who can say this, hath uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach. There is heaven in the depth of that word-Father! There is all I can ask; all my necessities can demand; all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, "Father."

He will keep the feet of his saints. (1 Samuel 2:9)

He will keep the feet of his saints. (1 Samuel 2:9)

The way is slippery and our feet are feeble, but the Lord will keep our feet. If we give ourselves up by obedient faith to be His holy ones, He will Himself be our guardian. Not only will He charge His angels to keep us, but He Himself will preserve our goings.

He will keep our feet from falling so that we do not defile our garments, wound our souls, and cause the enemy to blaspheme.

He will keep our feet from wandering so that we do not go into paths of error, or ways of folly, or courses of the world's custom.

He will keep our feet from swelling through weariness, or blistering because of the roughness and length of the way.

He will keep our feet from wounding: our shoes shall be iron and brass so that even though we tread on the edge of the sword, or on deadly serpents, we shall not bleed or be poisoned.

He will also pluck our feet out of the net. We shall not be entangled by the deceit of our malicious and crafty foes.

With such a promise as this, let us run without weariness and walk without fear. He who keeps our feet will do it effectually.

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. (Psalm 41:1)

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. (Psalm 41:1)

 

To think about the poor and let them lie on our hearts is a Christian man's duty; for Jesus put them with us and near us when He said, "The poor ye have always with you."

 

Many give their money to the poor in a hurry, without thought; and many more give nothing at all. This precious promise belongs to those who "consider" the poor, look into their case, devise plans for their benefit, and considerately carry them out. We can do more by care than by cash, and most with two together. To those who consider the poor, the Lord promises His own consideration in times of distress. He will bring us out of trouble if we help others when they are in trouble. We shall receive very singular providential help if the Lord sees that we try to provide for others. We shall have a time of trouble, however generous we may be; but if we are charitable, we may put in a claim for peculiar deliverance, and the Lord will not deny His own word and bond. Miserly curmudgeons may help themselves, but considerate and generous believers the Lord will help. As you have done unto others, so will the Lord do unto you. Empty your pockets.

Everybody knows the little song, "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know."

Everybody knows the little song, "Jesus Loves Me, This I Know." But does the Father love us? And did He love us before Jesus died for us? Yes! "God [the Father] so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son" (John 3:16).

If He so loved us before Jesus died for us, then was He reconciled to us before Jesus died? Yes! He was already in a state of being reconciled to us, not that any change in Him was at any time necessary. This reconciliation of the Father to us was not accomplished by the sacrifice of Jesus. The correct word to say is that the sacrifice of Jesus demonstrated the fact of His already being reconciled to us (Rom. 5:6-11, 15-21). So let us delete the word "accomplished" by the cross and substitute the right word, "demonstrated."

But what does this actually mean to us? And what does it mean to the souls for whom we pray and to whom we want to witness? It means that the Father has no chip on His shoulder against anyone personally; He loves "all men," even "the world," sinful as it is. It follows therefore that God treats every person as though we were righteous, even though we are not.

God loves the person, but He hates the sin. The sinner (that's everybody) must learn to believe that the Father loves him just as much as the Son loves him, so much that He wants to separate him from sin.

But the problem is that the sinner (everybody) loves sin, so how can we be separated from that which we have been born and bred to love? The answer is the cross--where the Son of God built that bridge across the dark chasm of our alienation from God. He also suffered alienation from His Father when He cried out on His cross, "My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matt. 27:46). No sinner has ever felt such horror of separation from God as did Jesus in that hour!

He was "made to be sin for us" (2 Cor. 5:21). Now the message of the cross says to us, "You be reconciled to God!" (5:20). The Father has proven His reconciliation to us; now let the truth melt our stony hearts.

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shalt be delivered. (Joel 12:32)

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shalt be delivered. (Joel 12:32)

Why do I not call on His name? Why do I run to this neighbor and that when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I sit down and devise schemes and invent plans! Why not at once roll my self and my burden upon the Lord? Straightforward is the best runner--why do I not run at once to the living God? In vain shall I look for deliverance anywhere else; but with God I shall find it; for here I have His royal "shall" to make it sure.

I need not ask whether I may call on Him or not, for that word whosoever is a very wide and comprehensive one. Whosoever means me, for it means anybody and everybody who calls upon God. I will therefore follow the leading of the text and at once call upon the glorious Lord who had made so large a promise.

My case is urgent, and I do not see how I am to be delivered; but this is no business of mine. He who makes the promise will find out ways and means of keeping it. It is mine to obey His commands; it is not mine to direct His counsels. I am His servant, not His solicitor. I call upon Him, and He will deliver me.

Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (John 6:37)

Is there any instance of our Lord's casting out a coming one? If there be so, we would like to know of it; but there has been none, and there never will be. Among the lost souls that will be in hell there  will  not be one that can say, "I went to Jesus, and He refused me." It is not possible that you or I should be the first to whom Jesus shall break His word. Let us not entertain so dark a suspicion.

Suppose we go to Jesus now about the evils of today. Oh, this we may be sure--He will not refuse us audience or cast us out. Those of us who have often been and those who have never gone before--let us go together, and we shall see that He will not shut the door of His grace in the face of any one of us.

"This man receiveth sinners," but He repulses none. We come to Him in weakness and sin, with trembling faith, and small knowledge, and slender hope; but He does not cast us out. We come by prayer, and that prayer broken; with confession, and that confession faulty; with praise, and that praise far short of His merits; but yet He receives us. We come diseased, polluted, worn out, and worthless; but He doth in no wise cast us out. Let us come again today to Him who never casts us out.

But don't we have to do something?

Everyone at some time has dreams, bad dreams, nightmares. But it seems that one always wakes up just before the final tragedy. According to the Bible, since the world began no human being has ever experienced the second death, that is, hell itself, with one Grand Exception--Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the second or "last Adam" of the human race.

As the Head of the human race, He "tasted death for every man" (Heb 2:9), not the first death which the Bible calls a "sleep," but the real thing, the utter God-forsakenness which is "the wages of sin" (Rom. 6:23; Rev. 2:11; 20:14). He died your second death; there is no need for you to endure it! Christ hasdone something for every human being, accomplished it, and given him the benefit.

"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). Christ is "the Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (John 1:9). Not only is He "the propitiation for our sins," but also "for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). A wise writer has written, "He restored the whole race of men to favor with God. ... No sin can be committed by man for which satisfaction has not been met on Calvary, ... a thorough expiation."

You and I live today because of that "satisfaction." He has lifted the heart-burden of "condemnation" which sinful Adam passed on to us and has pronounced on "all men" that "verdict of acquittal" that Paul describes in Romans 5:15-18 (Revised English Bible). That does not mean that everyone is automatically going to heaven; no, because many "receive ... the grace of God in vain" (2 Cor. 6:1), and reject what Christ has already won for them. But "for every man" there is deliverance already achieved for those "who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:14, 15).

But don't we have to do something? Of course; let your proud, sinful heart be melted; "humble yourselves ... under the mighty hand of God" (1 Peter 5:6); let the "constraint" of that love motivate you to live "henceforth ... unto Him which died for [you]" and not unto yourself (see 2 Cor. 5:14, 15). Say "Thank You!" with your life.

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. (Genesis 9:14)

And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud. (Genesis 9:14)

Just now clouds are plentiful enough, but we are not afraid that the world will be destroyed by a deluge. We see the rainbow often enough to prevent our having any such fears. The covenant which the Lord made with Noah stands fast, and we have no doubts about it. Why, then, should we think that the clouds of trouble, which now darken our sky, will end in our destruction? Let us dismiss such groundless and dishonoring fears.

Faith always sees the bow of covenant promise whenever sense sees the cloud of affliction. God has a bow with which He might shoot out His arrows of destruction. But see, it is turned upward! It is a bow without an arrow or a string; it is a bow hung out for show, no longer used for war. It is a bow of many colors, expressing joy and delight, and not a bow blood-red with slaughter or black with anger. Let us be of good courage. Never does God so darken our sky as to leave His covenant without a witness, and even if He did, we would trust Him since He cannot change or lie or in any other way fail to keep His covenant of peace. Until the waters go over the earth again, we shall have no reason for doubting our God.

Thou shalt see greater than these. (John 1:50)

Thou shalt see greater than these. (John 1:50)

This is spoken to a childlike believer, who was ready to accept Jesus as the Son of God, the King of Israel, upon one convincing piece of argument. Those who are willing to see shall see; it is because we shut our eyes that we become so sadly blind.

We have seen much already. Great things and unsearchable has the Lord showed unto us, for which we praise His name; but there are greater truths in His Word, greater depths of experience, greater heights of fellowship, greater works of usefulness, greater discoveries of power, and love, and wisdom. These we are yet to see if we are willing to believe our Lord. The faculty of inventing false doctrine is ruinous, but power to see the truth is a blessing. Heaven shall be opened to us, the way thither shall be made clear to us in the Son of Man, and the angelic commerce which goes on between the upper and the lower kingdoms shall be made more manifest to us. Let us keep our eyes open toward spiritual objects and expect to see more and more. Let us believe that our lives will not drivel down into nothing but that we shall be always on the growing hand, seeing greater and still greater things, till we behold the great God Himself and never again lose the sight of Him.

It's time to seek some "eyesalve" that can impart discernment (see Rev. 3:18).

It crops up all the time--from church-goers who say they have gone to church for decades and heard legalism preached. But now they rejoice that the gospel of "righteousness by faith" is proclaimed. Thank God for any true change for the better!
But are there different kinds of "righteousness by faith"? Revelation 14 presents an "everlasting gospel" that validates itself by raising up people who truly "keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." They prepare for the literal second coming of Christ.
The author of the Book of Revelation also writes a series of warnings against false claims of "righteousness by faith" in which "we lie, and do not the truth;" "we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us;" "we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 1:6, 8, 10; 2:4, etc.).
Apparently the apostle John wants us to discern any "gospel" that does not produce obedience to all the commandments of God (all ten!). A preacher who says he is proclaiming the "gospel" but himself continues to "break one of these least commandments, and ... teach[es] men so," says Jesus, could be a highly sophisticated deception, yet not realize who he is (see Matt. 5:19). The true "everlasting gospel" must produce obedience to all those commandments in the one himself who preaches it.
Is this concern a reversal again to "legalism"? "The everlasting gospel" of Revelation 14 is not legalism; it is a clearer understanding of the cross of Christ than has ever "lightened the earth with glory" (see its full development in Rev. 18:1-4).
In the final crisis the opposite view of "righteousness by faith" will spin the Emperor's New Clothes, with multitudes "covered" by what they assume is a spiritual insurance policy. They will go for "the mark of the beast," which will be the most sophisticated counterfeit of "the everlasting gospel" the world has ever seen.
It's time to seek some "eyesalve" that can impart discernment (see Rev. 3:18).