The Gospel in Revelation

If the church’s message is the gospel, might we expect to find it in the book of Revelation?

Let’s start with a brief review of some basics.

The Gospel Is Simple

We must always be careful not to over-complicate it. It is by simple faith in the Jesus of the Bible that a person is forgiven and made a child of God forever. I grew up hearing the cross-centered, “Just As I Am” gospel of Billy Graham and the Four Spiritual Laws gospel of Campus Crusade for Christ. I sang the Wordless Book of Child Evangelism Fellowship. The simple gospel is that Jesus is the good news, the hope of eternal life.

We rightly think of the good news as the great grace God delivered through the climactic events of the earthly career of our Lord Jesus the Messiah—namely, His crucifixion and resurrection. We shouldn’t be surprised that those are featured prominently in Revelation in a variety of contexts. Jesus is referred to in several different ways (especially in 19:11–16), but the most common is as “lamb” (31 times). Through the repeated image of lamb, John is continually reminding us of God’s choice of this pure and innocent one to provide satisfying atonement for His chosen people. As well, He is pointing to His voluntary submission to the hateful designs of the leaders of Israel in demanding His crucifixion.

There are also five references to His blood spilled on the cross (1:5; 5:9; 7:14; 12:11; 19:13). His resurrection is emphatic in 1:17–18: “I am the first and the last, indeed I am the living one; I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.”

But the gospel is not just the cross and resurrection because Jesus is not just the first coming. As important as that is, it is important to remember that the New Testament message does not terminate on resurrection. He will certainly triumph and reign.

The Gospel Is Good News of God’s Ultimate Victory

The good news is that the eternal future of the universe is good not evil; life not death. The good news is that good wins because God wins.

“There is a great conflict of the ages that God has revealed is going to come to a head and final resolution in His timing and on His terms. The outcome of that conflict is not in doubt.”

The term and theme of victory-overcoming is pervasive in the book of Revelation. The Greek word for conquer, nikaō, occurs seventeen times. The lion-lamb has conquered by giving His life and rising victorious over death, so victorious as to redeem His chosen saints (5:5– 9). It is by their faith in the lamb’s bloody death that His martyred followers prevail in the end (12:11), victorious over the Antichrist who oversaw their deaths (15:2).

There is a great conflict of the ages that God has revealed is going to come to a head and final resolution in His timing and on His terms. The outcome of that conflict is not in doubt. God wins; Satan loses. So God’s faithful followers share in the spoils of His victory and Satan’s followers suffer his fate of eternal damnation. There is no grey zone.

The Gospel Is About God Reigning, Jesus Reigning

The two leading themes of the book of Revelation are coming and kingship, and the main idea of the book is the prophecy that Jesus is coming to claim the throne and crown that are rightly His; He shall reign. Thank you, George F. Handel, for that immortal Hallelujah Chorus taken from Revelation 11:15: “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever!”

Yes, He is now enthroned at the right hand of the High King of Heaven. But He is coming to earth to reign here, as prophesied in Psalm 2:6.

That theme of kingship is found not only in God the Father reigning as King of Heaven and Jesus the Son coming to reign as King of Earth, but also in the evil, rival kings. Satan is depicted to have a throne and crowns (12:3; 13:2); as is the Antichrist beast (13:1; 16:10). So the great conflict of the book is the inevitable clash of the two leaders. Of course the outcome is certain. The opponents are in no way equal opposites. “[Incomparably] greater is He that is in [us]” (1 John 4:4).

The Gospel Demands That Every Knee Bow

There is only one time that the word gospel occurs in the book of Revelation and that is in 14:6–7, where perhaps unexpectedly it is an angel charged with proclaiming it. The portion of his proclamation that John gives us is in verse 7: “He said with a loud voice, Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” He declares that God is absolutely supreme—He made it; He owns it; He rules it—and he demands that all bow in repentant adoration.

The good news of the book of Revelation is that because of Jesus’ victory in both His first (already) and second (not yet) comings, the eternal future of the universe is good. If day six of the Genesis 1 creation week ended with the amplified assessment, “it was very good,” what Revelation depicts is a new creation that is incomparably better. Because of this good news we have eternal hope of a perfect world that can never be contaminated and of our glorified participation: not just being there, but reigning with our Creator-King (5:10; 22:5). To Him be regal glory forever. Amen!