So, we’ve got just two short verses pulled out of their context from the midst of a complex assortment of rather odd and sometimes challenging images and visions concerning the life of the Church under the Cross in these gray and latter days, living in the hope and promise of the Resurrection of the body to the Life everlasting of body and soul.
This is not the way we normally approach the Holy Scriptures, and I don't generally recommend it. But you probably know the reason why in this case. Historically, going back to the 16th century and for centuries beyond, Lutherans identified Dr. Luther himself with that angel flying in mid-heaven. And these were not wild-eyed ignorants who had this opinion. This is what Pastor Bugenhagen preached at Dr. Luther's funeral in 1546; but already in 1522, Michael Steifel had included this identification in a ballad about Dr. Luther and his confession of the Gospel. As late as Dr. C.F.W. Walther, the identification was still being made. And that’s why Revelation 14:6-7 is the historic Epistle associated with the Commemoration of the Reformation.
Now, while we may not be inclined to go with that interpretation, and we certainly don't want to go overboard, I think it’s only fair to honor our fathers in Christ by considering why on earth they would have made this identification.
To begin with, it is a matter of taking seriously just how bad things had gotten prior to the 16th-century Reformation: The false doctrine that was being taught, the practices that furthered that false doctrine. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, this beautiful confession of the Gospel. Certainly there were other reformers prior to Dr. Luther, but still, there is a significant turning point in the 16th century, in which the Gospel — long buried under false doctrine and works righteousness and the sale of indulgences and the selling of masses — suddenly springs forth again in its truth and purity. Our Lutheran forefathers took seriously both the problem that was confronted and the blessed and gracious Gospel that shone forth by the grace of God.
Dr. Luther was an instrument of that preaching and teaching, and it is right that we should give thanks to God for him. We dare not make the Gospel all about Luther. God forbid that we should ever do so! Luther himself would never have wanted such a thing. But it is right that we give thanks to God that Dr. Luther and the Lutheran Reformation were all about the Gospel. We praise God for that, because we recognize the hand of God in those events.
All of this being considered, it is simply a fact that Dr. Luther was “another angel,” a messenger of the Word of God, a preacher and a pastor by the grace of God for the good of His church and to the glory of His Holy Name. It’s interesting, the commentators debate among themselves as to why the first of three angels is called “another angel” right out of the chute, with lots of different answers given. I tend to believe it’s because, in every day and age and every generation, there are these angels whom our Lord raises up for the purpose of preaching and teaching His Word.
Luther was “another angel,” as were the Prophets, Apostles, Evangelists, Bishops and Pastors before him. So are some of you already, and so shall others of you be in due time, called, ordained and sent as angels, as messengers of the Word of God.
The angels in the Book of the Revelation are sometimes heavenly spiritual beings, but they are as often as not pastors and bishops of the church on earth. That's how Dr. Luther himself took it, and I think it makes perfect sense. In the chapters where St. John writes to the angels of the seven churches, I'm not sure how he would do that to a heavenly address.
Whoever aspires to be such an angel desires a noble task. And to be sure, as we confess in one of our Collects, God has never failed to raise up such faithful angels, pastors and teachers of His Word, to care for His Church on earth. And according to His promise, He shall continue to do so, even to the close of the age.
The angel is flying in mid-heaven — or directly overhead as this translation puts it — at the high point or the zenith of the day, in one sense above the fray. But really, what we have here, between the heavens and the earth, is this voice that comes from God preaching to those on the earth, warning against the devil, and against his wrath and ire, who has been cast out of heaven and now rages upon the earth with his vicious and vindictive assaults and accusations.
The angel flying in mid-heaven calls sinners rather to repentance and to faith in the forgiveness of sins, all of this in Jesus’ Name. So, for example, in our Confessions we teach that Christians are to understand the word of Holy Absolution, spoken to them by their pastor, as the very voice of God from heaven, forgiving their sins on earth as it is in heaven.
Whereas, by contrast, if even an angel from heaven were to preach another gospel, other than that of Christ and His Cross and Resurrection, then such an angel would be anathema, accursed, and rejected. And I believe it is fair to say that there was such a false angel, and such a false gospel, in Luther’s day, which he refuted by turning the people back to what God has actually spoken, to the words of Holy Scripture, and to the faithful orthodox confession of the Church catholic.
As the Son of Man was lifted up on the Cross, and thereby draws all people to Himself, so is He also lifted up in the preaching of His Gospel from one end of heaven to the other, even to the ends of the earth, whereby He calls all men to repentance, to the knowledge of the Truth, to Life and Salvation in Himself. So does He give His heavenly gifts by way of earthly means, by words and water, bread and wine, in which heaven and earth are brought together, reconciled, and united by the message and the ministry of Christ Jesus.
So, for example, in your Holy Baptism — the washing of water with His Word here on earth — in that Holy Sacrament the voice of God from an open heaven declares that you also are His beloved and well-pleasing child by the gracious adoption of sons.
This eternal Gospel is a gift that is received from God by His grace. It can only be received, not gotten, not purchased, not earned. It is received and possessed in faith; and as we have heard, so do we also confess it, and pray it, and sing it.
We know what this Gospel is, both from the immediate and larger context of the Book of the Revelation and so also from the Holy Gospel According to St. John. There are any number of connections and parallels between the Revelation and the Gospel of St. John. The Son of God — the Word of God from all eternity who has become Flesh and dwells among us, the Son of Mary — is the Lamb of God who bears in His Body and takes away the sins of the world. He goes to His sacrificial death upon the Cross and sheds His holy and precious Blood to atone for those sins, to ransom and redeem us. And in His Resurrection from the dead, He feeds His Church with His Word and His Flesh and His Blood, for eternal Life with God.
He is the Lamb upon the throne, along with His God and Father — the Lamb who has been slain, and yet, behold, He lives! — by whose Blood and Testimony the saints persevere in holy faith and holy love, even over against the assaults and accusations of Satan.
The angels or messengers of the Gospel, by definition, preach and proclaim this message, and they do so as good news. Even the preaching of repentance is good news for those otherwise lost and blind in their sins. For those angels or messengers who are the pastors and bishops of the Church, this is their divine calling and their holy station, so of course they do this, by the Word and Will of God; and woe to them if they do not! But so does every Christian speak the Gospel, just as he or she has heard it and received it as the very voice of God from heaven in the preaching and administration of the Gospel in the Name of Jesus by their dear pastors here on earth.
This Gospel, though given in earthly words and earthly means, is eternal, not only in its permanent establishment in the crucified and risen Body of Christ Jesus, but so also in the way that it is continually preached and proclaimed in every age, even to the ends of the earth. It did not cease with the Ascension of Christ Jesus or the death of His Apostles, it persists even to the close of the age, always efficacious, always the living and Life-giving Word of God Himself.
By that preaching, that eternal Gospel bestows eternal Gifts which give eternal Life to the whole Church of all times and places — and so also to each and every one of you here and now — eternal Gifts unto the Resurrection and the Life everlasting.
This true Gospel and the true doctrine of Christ Jesus and His Word are confessed and proclaimed to and for all those residing on the earth in all times and places, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. And with this verse also in mind, Dr. Luther was identified with the angel flying in mid-heaven, especially because of his translation of the Bible into German, making the precious Word of God and the holy Gospel more accessible and more understandable to those people in his day. As Lutherans we treasure the translation of the Scriptures into the vernacular, and the preaching of the Holy Scriptures, the catechesis of the Word of God, so that people hear it and learn it and know it and love it.
It is precisely because of our insistence on the pure Gospel and the authority of the Word of God for doctrine and practice that the Lutheran church has always been zealous in the preaching of the Gospel and the teaching of the Word far and wide. This is why we are committed to the mission of the Church in every place, both at home and abroad. And along the same lines, we also insist upon the need for ongoing catechesis of those who are already disciples, that we should teach them the faith and obedience of all that our Lord Jesus has spoken and commanded. After all, the “Great Commission” at the end of St. Matthew’s Gospel, which is indeed echoed in this passage in the Book of the Revelation, calls for such ongoing catechesis, always aiming toward faith and life and obedience to Christ Jesus, the life of faith and holy love.
If you look at the actual proclamation of the eternal Gospel as it’s described in these couple of verses, the focus here is not so much on the content of the Gospel, but rather on the appropriate response to the preaching of that Gospel:
To “fear God,” to begin with, because it is the beginning of all true wisdom, it is foundational and central to both repentance and to faith. To fear God is to recognize both His authority and your sin, for which you deserve nothing but punishment. It is also to revere Him and His Word, to hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. And it is to rely upon and to respect His Judgment as just and true, decisive and right.
To “give Him the glory” is simply to acknowledge the glory that is already His from all eternity, quite apart from us; but we give Him that glory by confessing who He is, what He has done, what He still does, and what He has promised, all on the basis of what He has revealed and spoken to us by His Son. The Father is glorified in His Son, and the Father glorifies the Son in Himself; and He does it by the way of the Cross and in the Resurrection.
As in St. John 12 — which actually has quite a few parallels to these verses in Revelation — judgment is wrought upon the earth, and the ruler of this world is cast out, by the lifting up of the Son of Man in death upon the Cross. So it is that the Voice from heaven (again!) declares that the Father is glorifying His Name in this One who is to be crucified. And you in turn glorify God by confessing the Cross and Resurrection of Christ Jesus, and so also by bearing His Cross with patience and peace in your own body and life, trusting the Word and promises of God, that He will raise you from the dead, glorified like unto Christ Himself.
As Satan was cast out of heaven, having been defeated by St. Michael and all the holy angels in that great heavenly battle, he has brought his wrath and violence down to the earth and to the sea, and he attacks you also in your conscience with his vile accusations. Sadly, by the very Law of God, many of those accusations would stick and find root in your heart and life. And yet, that old dragon or serpent who is called the devil and Satan is overcome by the Blood of Christ, the Lamb, and by the confession of His Cross, whereby sin has been atoned for, including all of your sins; whereby the world has been redeemed and reconciled to God, and you also are redeemed and reconciled to God; whereby death has been defeated and undone, and the Kingdom of Heaven has been opened to all who believe and are baptized into Christ Jesus.
Glorify God by believing and confessing that victory of the Cross of Christ and His Resurrection from the dead, whereby He judges you righteous by His grace through faith in His Gospel, the forgiveness of all your sins.
And instead of pursuing the idolatrous worship of the beast and all the false gods of this fallen and perishing world, worship the true and only God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them, who has also redeemed you and the whole of His good creation from sin and death, and who pours out the Holy Spirit generously upon you in streams of living water flowing from the innermost being of Christ the Crucified.
And as you are redeemed and sanctified in both your body and your soul, in your heart, mind, and spirit, by the Word & Spirit, Flesh & Blood of Jesus, so worship God by faith with both your body and your soul, with your heart, mind, and spirit, by confessing Christ Jesus from within your own proper calling and station and life. Thus, whatever your place in life may be, you also become “another angel” of the eternal Gospel of our Savior, Christ Jesus, for your neighbor.
In the Name + of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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