6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality.”
9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”
12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”
If the fall of Babylon were not enough to convince us of the relevance and power of this 'everlasting gospel', and its 'evangelistic' impact, surely the next verses should do so. For they indicate with the utmost clarity that God places an 'either/or' before men in and by His Word -there is the warning of woe for those who have the mark of the beast and yield to his seductive charms, and there is the blessedness (13) of those who die in the Lord. Ultimately there are only two ways, life or death, and we must not be frightened of a message which seems to lay far more emphasis upon law and upon warning than upon what we are used in our ignorance to call 'the evangelistic note'. The evangel is never absent where an 'either/or' is placed before men. Nothing could be clearer than these words (9-13). There are only two alternatives, two categories, two ways -there are those who submit to the beast and have his mark, and there are those who submit to the Son of God and receive His seal. There are no other kinds of people - only the saved and the lost, and all men are either the one or the other. That this categorical choice should be so distasteful to a generation that loves to sit on the fence, speaking of 'many roads into the kingdom', and preferring innumerable intermediate shades of grey to the 'harsh realities' of black and white, is simply an indication of how well the beast and the false prophet have done their work in the minds and hearts of men. But scales will fall from all eyes when Jesus comes to reign, and the final distinction will be utterly clear. This is the urgency that the 'everlasting gospel' sounds out, entirely at one with the message of the early Church and the preaching of the Apostles.