Rev. 14:1-7; Mark 13:10, God Still Loves the World

One conclusion we should arrive at in our study of the Olivet Discourse is that God loves the elect.  Eschatology is about the love of God.  Note Hebrews 9:

²⁷ And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

It is true, that eschatology tells us how the judgment of God is fulfilled.  But the entire story is about Christ: the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev. 19:10).  The salvation He provided through His first advent will get its full and final application in His second advent.  It will truly be a day full of “Hallelujahs!”

And, if you are wondering, in God’s prophetic plan we see that He also loves the world, with a John 3:16 love.  A major “timing” issue is that the end will not come until the gospel is preached to all the nations (Mk. 13:10).  God does not desire, nor does He rejoice in, the death of the wicked (Lam. 3:33; Ezek. 18:23; 2 Peter. 3:9).  In love He will make it a point for the gospel to be available to all!  Not only did Jesus say this.  Paul, by the Spirit, in the verse that precedes his prophecy that “all Israel will be saved,” said that the door to salvation for the nations would remain open “until the fullness of the Gentiles (Nations) has come in” (Rom. 11:25). 

Revelation 14:6-7 also speaks of this:

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— ⁷ saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

The “everlasting gospel” is the good news of redemption in Christ.  That was the good news in the OT when Abraham, for example, believed God with respect to a  Son from his own body (Gen. 15:4-6) as well as in the NT where the good news is that the Son of Abraham has come and given His life as the ransom.  The angel preaches this gospel to every nation, tribe, tongue and people, urging them to glorify God by believing in His Son.  In my view, this angelic preaching is in some way tied to the 144,000 standing on Mt. Zion with the Lamb (14:1-6).  Perhaps, having been sealed early in the Tribulation Period (Rev. 7:1-8), they were protected by the Lord until the message reached all the nations.  That would be consistent with God, who “so loved the world,” the world that He created and has sustained throughout the ages.