NOTHING GOOD LAST FOREVER.
The phrase “Nothing good lasts forever” suggests that good things or situations are not permanent and will eventually come to an end. This is true of experiences such as relationships, friendships, moments of happiness, success, or even physical possessions. But the Bible declares that God offers Good News that will last forever!
In this series of videos, we look at that good news in the context of the times in which we are living. As we consider this good news, we must remember that our orders for the present day are centered in the three angels’ messages of Revelation chapter 14.
These messages make up the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ and are the present truth for our time. Therefore, in this series, we are studying the messages surrounding the three angels of Revelations 14 and their relevance to the gospel and the times in which we are living.
If you want to review any of our previous videos, you can find them at SabbathSchoolDaily.com. Additionally, you can obtain the study guide for these lessons at Sabbath.School or ssnet.org.
Inviting God’s Presence
Heavenly Father, Thank you for your eternal Good News. Give us the heart to accept and live our lives in appreciation of it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen
The phrase “Nothing good lasts forever” is a reminder that we should appreciate and cherish the good things in our lives while we have them rather than taking them for granted. It can serve as a motivation to make the most of the time and opportunities that God gives us. For we never know when they will come to an end.
But the one thing that we can be sure of is that the gospel, the Good News About Jesus, is eternal. It is everlasting!
Notice in Revelation 14:6 how the Three Angels’ Messages starts:
Revelation 14:6
6 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, NKJV).
Revelation 14:6 introduces the three angels’ messages with everlasting Good News. This Good News is important. If we fail to get it, we will not clearly understand the point of the Three Angels’ Messages.
Without it, we cannot fully understand the extent of God’s work as Judge mentioned in the First Angel’s Message. We won’t understand the seriousness of the fall of Babylon in the Second Angel’s Message. Nor will we fully understand the mark of the beast in the Third Angel’s Message.
For starters, 1 Corinthians 15:1–4; Romans 3:24–26; and Romans 5:6–8, in addition to offering us hope, give us some understanding of the everlasting gospel, the Good News that last forever.
I Corinthians 15:1-4
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (I Corinthians 15:1-4)
Romans 3:24-26
24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans 3:24-26)
Romans 5:6-8
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
What is the Good News?
The Good News or Everlasting Gospel is the message of God to us that Jesus died for our sins. But it did not end there! Something incredible happened. Jesus woke up from the dead. This Good News of Jesus dying and rising from the dead tells us that Jesus loves and cares for us and cares about us.
It is, therefore, by faith that when we believe in Jesus’ death for us on the cross, we are then freed from the penalty for our sins.
Sin leaves a stain of guilt, but Jesus’ blood cleanses us. Thus, we are treated as if we never sin.
Furthermore, Jesus can free us from sin’s control over our lives. Thus, through Jesus, we are freed from the power and penalty of sin. Paise the Lord!
Paul fully understood God’s love and salvation through Jesus. Therefore, the good news about Jesus is the central theme in his preaching, his writings, and teachings.
You see, Paul, like you and I was a sinner, filled with guilt and shame. But Jesus set Paul free from the guilt and condemnation of his past sins.
Therefore, like Paul, when we accept Jesus, we are no longer controlled by the suggestions of Satan. Jesus, in his death and resurrection, gives us, as it did Paul, the power over our thoughts and behavior. The fact that Jesus died and rose from the dead for the sake of saving us gives us the power for the present. And Jesus’ promise of returning to this earth a second time gives us hope for the future.
Looking back at 1 Corinthians and Romans, Paul makes four important points:
- We are justified freely by grace. God freely forgives us because of His mercy.
- Grace is a declaration of God’s righteousness. God is holiness, and righteousness is expressed in His grace and mercy.
- Grace justifies those who, by faith, accept Jesus. When we accept Jesus, God’s mercy, and grace cleanse us from sin.
- God’s love was demonstrated for us while we were still sinners. While we were still sinners, God showed His love by dying for us.
The point is: We can’t do anything to earn Jesus’ mercy and grace. It is unmerited, undeserved, and unearned. Jesus died an agonizing, painful, and horrible death. And those who refuse to accept Jesus will die this same death when they die the second time.
On the cross, Jesus accepted God the Father’s anger against sin. There he experiences the fullness of the Father’s wrath, or judgment, against sin. Jesus was rejected so that we can be accepted. Jesus died the death that was ours so that we can live the life that was His.
Interestingly, the plan to save us was not an afterthought. 2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2, and Ephesians 1:4 tell us that God made this plan to save sinners before time began.
2 Timothy 1:9
9 who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, (2 Timothy 1:9)
Titus 1:2
2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, Titus 1:2
And
Ephesians 1:4
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Ephesians 1:4).
It is understandable why God’s plan is named the Good News, which lasts forever. It is the everlasting gospel. It existed before the world was created. God put this plan to save humanity in place before sin was introduced.
We must remember:
In ourselves, we are sinners; but in Christ, we are righteous. Having made us righteous through the imputed righteousness of Christ, God pronounces us just and treats us as if we had never sinned. He looks upon us as His dear children. Christ works against the power of sin, and where sin abounded, grace much more abounds. (Select Messages, book 1, p. 394)
Thus, the Three Angel’s Message is not a Story of Fear but a story of Grace. For more on this story of grace, watch Part 2 of this Video. Day 4: A Story of Grace
The Three Angels’ Messages is a story about God’s Grace. It is a message about His mercy and loving favor. They tell us about a Savior’s love for us. It is a story about Jesus. It is a story about love that never ends. Relationships between us humans fail. Love in this world ends; it does not last forever. But Jesus’ love has no limits. The message of the three angels in Revelation 14:6 is the story about Jesus, who loves us so much that He would rather go through hell to save us.
Different from human love. His love is divine. It never dies. Yes, it is difficult to understand it fully. But Jesus loves us just the same. Jesus loves us so much that He chose to die so that no one would need to be lost.
Nothing surprises God. Not even sin. As discussed, God’s plan to save us from sin wasn’t something that He came up with after sin happened. God’s saving plan was intact before He made this world.
This is exactly what John in Revelation 13:8 and Peter in 1 Peter 1:19-20 tells us. God’s plan was in effect before the foundation of the world.
Revelation 13:8
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. (Revelation 13:8)
1 Peter 1:18-20
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers,
19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.
20 For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you (1 Peter 1:18-20).
The Everlasting Gospel, the Good News, is a story of God’s love past, present, and future. It shows us that God anticipated what choice we would make when He God gave us the freedom to choose. Knowing that we would make bad choices, He still gave us the capacity to choose between good and evil.
Thus, he gave the creatures that He had created the ability to rebel against His loving nature.
But knowing that we would make bad choices, could not God have made us so that we would not choose evil?
Yes, but then we would not be free. Then his only option would have been to create robots who were forced to serve Him. God doesn’t want to force us to serve Him. He wants our actions to be motivated by love. In other words, the freedom to love also means the freedom to choose. Love does not force.
Therefore, when people have the power to choose, there remains the possibility of choosing wrong. So, to accommodate this possibility, the plan to save humanity was put in place before our first parents sinned in the Garden of Eden.
“The plan for our redemption was not an afterthought, a plan formulated after the fall of Adam. It was a revelation of ‘the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal.’ Romans 16:25, R.V. It was an unfolding of the principles that from eternal ages have been the foundation of God’s throne.”—Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 22.
So, the everlasting Gospel, the Good News about Jesus Christ, his death, and his resurrection for the salvation of humanity, continues forever. It is a story about everything God did for us in the past. The Good News also is about the things Jesus does for us now. But it does not stop there; it is the Good News about our future hope. Our hope is that we can live eternally with Jesus, the one who died to save us.
When going through hard times and struggles, Ephesians 1:4 is encouraging. It tells us that
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (Ephesians 1:4)
God chose each of us to be saved before He made the world. Now that is Good News!
How can we possibly hold on to this news and not share it? That is exactly what God expects us to do. Share!
Watch part 5 of this week’s lesson regarding our duty to share: Day 5: Into All the World
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