The Who of Evangelism

“Then I saw another 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” (Revelation 14:6).

As Seventh-day Adventists, we have historically found our identity in the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12—so much so that it is part of our church’s official mission statement: “Make disciples of Jesus Christ who live as His loving witnesses and proclaim to all people the everlasting gospel of the three angels’ messages in preparation for His soon return.”[1] This is what we do. This is why we exist. We are all about evangelism—proclaiming the everlasting gospel.

So that we might rightly execute this assignment, let’s consider the text more closely and notice the various entities it describes.

The First “Who”

The first “who” in the text is the angel. The original word is “angelos,” which means “messenger” or “envoy.”[2] It refers to one who is sent with a message. Throughout Scripture angels are frequently dispatched from the throne of God with messages for the inhabitants of earth. An example is Luke 2:8-12, in which an angel appeared to shepherds who were “keeping watch over their flock by night.” Notice that the angel brought them a message; He had “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”

Angels are not the only envoys dispatched from God with a message. When reflecting on the ministry of John the Baptist, Jesus described him as the fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy: “Behold, I send My messenger (angelos) before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You” (Matt. 11:10). This means an angelos can be a literal angel or it can be a person. What makes them an angelos is that they have been sent with a message. So, in harmony with the symbolic language found in the book of Revelation, Adventist expositors have interpreted the angel (angelos)flying in the midst of heaven as representing “God’s saints engaged in the task of proclaiming the everlasting gospel” to the world. [3]

As we go forward as angels, executing our mission to fly in the midst of heaven preaching the everlasting gospel to those who dwell upon the earth, two observations should be kept in mind. First, the praise doesn’t go to us. It doesn’t matter how intellectual the teaching, how powerful the preaching, or how significant the response—we are just messengers. As we engage in evangelism, let’s remember to direct all the praise and glory to God and God alone!

Second, if the praise doesn’t go to us, neither should blame or shame. Too frequently we internally give in to our penchant to externally determine evangelistic success based upon numerical baptismal outcomes. Years ago I attended my very first year-end worker’s meeting as a young pastor. At some point during the meeting a sheet was passed out that included every pastor’s name and the number of baptisms they had that year. As I looked at the handout it read: “Fordham, 0”—and I literally felt like a zero. I still remember crying (yes, crying!) in my car on my way back home, feeling as if I were a failure in the eyes of the conference, and a failure in the eyes of God.

Something is wrong with that picture.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not advocating for laziness, abdication of duty, or lack of training, planning, or effort. I’m talking about a messenger who faithfully delivers the message and then is judged—not on the degree of their faithfulness, but on the response (or lack thereof) of those to whom the message was communicated. Can you imagine the other angels in heaven making Gabriel feel devalued because Zacharias didn’t respond with faith to the message (see Luke 1:8-20)? Of course not—because Gabriel is just a messenger.

It doesn’t matter how intellectual the teaching, how powerful the preaching, or how significant the response—we are just messengers.

Of course, we want as many as possible to accept the message and become messengers of the everlasting gospel themselves. We should simply be mindful that the Bible says, “so then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:7), and create a culture in which instead of praising those who baptize many, and blaming or shaming those who baptize few, we affirm all who faithfully share the message. For “it is required in stewards that one be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:2).

The Second “Who”

The second “who” of our evangelism is probably the most apparent: “Then I saw another 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.”

To whom is the everlasting gospel to be preached? To every last person who dwells on the planet. Notice: It’s not just to be preached to the rich; it’s also to be preached to the poor. It’s not just to be preached to the educated; it’s also to be preached to the uneducated. It’s not just to be preached to the baby boomers; it’s also to be preached to Generation Z. It’s not just to be preached to the straight; it’s also to be preached to the gay. It’s not just to be preached to white people; it’s also to be preached to black and brown people. It’s not just to be preached to the citizen; it’s also to be preached to the immigrant.

We live in an exceedingly polarizing climate in which it can be very tempting to look out only for your own. As Christians, however, we are called to operate according to the values and principles of another kingdom, one that is not of this world. And the King of that kingdom has sent us as ambassadors with a message that is for everyone who dwells on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people.

One of the strengths of the early Adventist movement was how seriously it took the worldwide scope of its everlasting gospel message. It was similar to how the apostles viewed Jesus’ charge that “this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). Oh, that we might rekindle the fervor of our predecessors and move forward focused on our mission to proclaim the everlasting gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people!

The Third “Who”

The third and final “who” in the text may be the most difficult to discern, but it’s definitely the most important to discover: “Then I saw another 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.”

Traditionally, when we think of Adventist evangelism, we think of a process—assembling a team of Bible workers to canvass the community, booking musical headliners to help draw a crowd, developing flyers for members to use to invite their friends, providing giveaways to secure contact information, and preparing and preaching a series of doctrinal sermons followed by an appeal for baptism. But biblically speaking, evangelism is not a process—it is a person.

The word “evangelism” is derived from the verb “euangelizo,” meaning “to announce good news,” “to bring glad tidings.”[4] The noun form, “euangelion,” is the word our text translates as “gospel.” Evangelism is literally the gospel.

Can you imagine the other angels in heaven making Gabriel feel devalued because Zacharias didn’t respond with faith to the message?

But what exactly is the gospel? In “The Meaning of Evangelism” Elizabeth Talbot shares that the background for the word gospel (euangelion) comes from the battlefield. It’s the word that the messengers would use in ancient times to announce to the people that their king had won the battle. The gospel (euangelion) is the announcement that our king has won![5] The New Testament authors borrowed this word and applied it specifically to the victory Christ won on the cross.

It can be seen when Paul writes, “Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you. . . . For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).

Ellen White says it even more succinctly: “Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel.”[6]

This means that in the strictest sense, not only is evangelism not merely a process—it’s also not a list of propositions. As empowering as the truth of creation may be, it is not the gospel. And as God-honoring as the Sabbath may be, it is not the gospel. And as enriching as the health message may be, it is not the gospel. And as enlightening as the teaching of the mortality of the soul may be, it is not the gospel. And as accurate as end-time prophecy may be, it is not the gospel.

The teaching ministry of the church is essential in building people up “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Eph. 4:13, 14). But we must never forget that doctrinal propositions do not save. Only a person saves: Jesus saves.

I believe Le Roy Froom articulated it best:

“Never should we forget . . . with all due regard for them, [that] the ‘Testing Truths’ of the Third Angel’s Message did not die for us. The Message, either in whole or in part, did not and cannot atone for our sins. Orthodox belief in Adventism cannot forgive our sins. Refusing to receive the Mark of the Beast will not make intercession for us before the Father. . . . Thus, a true understanding of the mortality of man, his unconsciousness in death, and the ultimate blotting out of the wicked will not bestow immortality upon us at the first resurrection or translation day. Only He who is Himself the Resurrection and Life Incarnate can and will do that.”[7]

So as we engage our Seventh-day Adventist mission of preaching the everlasting gospel, let’s remember that we are just messengers, with a message for everyone, whose center is the person of Jesus, and His victory won on the cross!

[1] This statement was voted by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists Executive Committee at the Annual Council in Silver Spring, Maryland, on October 13, 2014, https://gc.adventist.org/official-statements/mission-statement-of-the-seventh-day-adventist-church/.

[2] James Strong, The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), s.v. “αγγελος.”

[3] The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, revised ed., vol. 7 (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1978), p. 827.

[4] Strong, The New Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, s.v. “ευαγγελιζω.”

[5] Elizabeth Talbot, “The Meaning of Evangelism,” https://youtu.be/KYRNULiLgmk?feature=shared.

[6] Ellen G. White, Ellen G. White Comments, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7A (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald, 1978), p. 458.

[7] Le Roy Edwin Froom, Movement of Destiny (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1971), p. 670.