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!”
The vision of the gathered elect of God, preserved and protected from all ultimate harm and brought through it to His eternal glory, is one well calculated to bring encouragement and reassurance to beleaguered saints in any age, whatever the persecutions and perils they might face, and we must think of it in relation to the fearful prophecies of chapter 13. This is just as true of the vision that follows, in which John sees another angel flying 'in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth'. Here our attention is turned once more to the earth, but we see it from the divine standpoint. And now, over against the fearful manifestation of the blasphemous trinity of evil, we see the activity of the Holy Trinity represented by the angel proclaiming the everlasting gospel. We must reject any suggestion that this is a different gospel from the gospel of grace. There is, and can be, but one gospel, and it is no argument to say that here the emphasis is different (7) from that made, for example, in the Acts and the Epistles. There are in fact different notes in the gospel - this we shall turn to later - and elements of fear and warning are just as authentic as those of grace and joy, as we see from Paul's preaching. This vision has in fact a close connection with the preceding verses. It is the presence and preaching of the gospel that is the decisive factor in the bringing about of vv1-5, and it is this that stands over against the 'sealing' of men by the beast (13:16, 17), indicating that even when Satan is doing his worst, the work of God goes on uninterruptedly to its appointed end.