And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.
— Revelation 14:6 —
Mark Tatlock: President, TMAI Headquarters | USA
John’s glimpse into the eternal state reveals that the Great Commission will be fulfilled! Those redeemed throughout history will one day be gathered before the throne of God. This has always been God’s intended plan. When Christ commissioned His disciples to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the remotest parts of the earth (Acts 1:8), it was in complete accord with God’s plan of redemption. As we start this year, pray today that God will give success to His laborers around the world and that more from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people will worship Jesus Christ as Lord! And it will only be in heaven where we who are gathered from among all the families (nations and tongues) of the earth will experience the fulfillment of this glorious mission. This means that there is no American church or American God—just the opposite. Whether we are American, Chinese, Indonesian, Russian, German, Kenyan, or another ethnic believer, we follow the same Lord. While sins of favoritism or racism seek to disrupt the unity of believers, the fulfillment of God’s mission will never be thwarted. One day before the throne, John tells us we will see the Tree of Life, representing eternal life, and the very leaves on that tree will represent the nations of the world from among whom the healing gospel came and fulfilled God’s commission. What a great privilege to live at a time when the making of disciples is a shared, international mission. National pastors, equipping their congregations to reach not only their own countrymen, but across borders, have made the missionary enterprise a cross-cultural, shared task. That is a small picture of heaven and a reminder that the Commission will be fulfilled. As we start this year, pray today that God will give success to His laborers around the world and that more from every nation, tribe, tongue, and people will worship Jesus Christ as Lord!
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