The Good News has always rung out throughout history, as the Angel of the Everlasting Gospel, i.e. Christ’s messengers have gone out with it and proclaimed it. God first trumpeted to Adam and Eve, newly subjected to sin, death and decay that his Son, Jesus Christ would come and redeem them from sin and give them new life again. They passed the message on to their children. Some believed and received eternal life. Some didn’t believe, like Cain and sought to drown out the beautiful Gospel promise, until generations later the wonderful promise of the Savior was almost lost and no one on the face of the whole planet believed, save eight—Noah and his family.

So God destroyed the ancient world through the waters of the flood, and began anew. Once again he took up his trumpet and blew for all the world to hear, living and clear: ‘The feast is ready, come to the feast, the good and the glad, come and be glad, greatest and least come to the feast.’

It didn’t take long for sinful man to muffle the message again. They banded together in rebellion against God and built themselves a tower to reach the heavens. Soon the faith would have died out all together, as "alien sound had all but drowned Thine ancient true and constant melody." But God appeared to Abraham and blew again. He promised him a son and through him established a people to be his very own to keep the gospel ringing out through the ages until the Messiah should come. Some believed. Many fell away. 10 of the tribes of Israel completely abandoned the Gospel and were banished forever into oblivion. Judah remained, but only through much hardship brought on by their own disregard for the angel of the everlasting Gospel, who nevertheless kept saying through the prophets: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare" (Isa 55:1-2). By the time Jesus came, the melody had almost disappeared again. While a few souls like aged Simeon and Anna were still waiting for the "consolation of Israel" most had abandoned the faith, or like the Pharisees mutated it into a message of self-righteousness and were trying to earn their own way to heaven.

But Christ proclaimed the Gospel anew. Once again the beautiful message of the eternal Gospel rang out, summoning bruised and wounded souls to the everlasting feast of heaven. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened," he said, "and I will give you rest" (Mat 11:28). The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost and empowered Jesus’ messengers, who went out into all the world to proclaim the Good News that Jesus had died for the sins of the world and risen to life again on the third day.

And the church joyfully grew and spread.

But the trumpet was soon muted once again. Hoards of marauding Mohammedans put to the sword many of the first Christian congregations in Asia Minor. But not all the enemies were from without. Within the church every possible permutation of false doctrine took hold, as Satan sought to stamp out the Gospel of free and full forgiveness in Christ. Soon people were worshipping the bones of dead Saints, and praying to Mary. They were buying indulgences, as the church bribed people into buying the souls of their dead relatives out of mythical purgatory. Once again the beautiful sound of the gospel was muffled by false messages, ugly tunes, as people played their own fiddles and heard what their itching ears wanted to hear.

Until, by grace, God in mercy looked down on our wretched state and raised up a new trumpet, a new angel of the everlasting Gospel to proclaim once again loud and clear: The feast is free and is open to all, the greatest and least, the good and the bad, from every nation, tribe, people and language, to everyone who will simply entrust himself to Jesus.

Today we remember Martin Luther, and praise God that he led him to rediscover the beautiful melody of the Gospel in Scripture—in Romans 1:17—"For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "‘The righteous will live by faith.’"

Listen again to the Reformation words of our hymn: This day we raise our song of praise adoring thee, that in the days when alien sound had all but drowned thine ancient, true and constant melody, Thy mighty hand did make a trumpet none could silence or mistake. Thy mighty breath did blow for all the world to hear, living and clear: ‘The feast is ready, come to the feast, the good and the bad, come and be glad, greatest and least come to the feast.’

All God wanted all along was to save people. He prepared his wonderful feast in the halls of heaven, because of his unquenchable love for man. He sent his one and only Son to die for the sins of every single human being on earth. He offered forgiveness for Jesus’ sake to absolutely every one, so that every single person might stand before him on the great day of judgment, clothed in the garments of salvation, the wedding clothes of Christ’s righteousness, and not robed in our own filthy garments in contempt of God’s gift. All God wanted all along was to graciously purify for himself a people that could be his very own and worship him before his throne. Listen again to the words of our text: Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. ⁷ He said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water."

Today we praise God that when the ever-repeating cycle of people falling away and drowning out the Gospel, he raised up his chosen servant, Martin Luther, to restore the preaching of the free Gospel to the church, four hundred and eighty-two years ago.

But that was then and this is now. Once again today, as the poet wrote, "Our darkling cry, our meddling sound have all but drowned that song that once made every echo ring."

People still want to enter heaven on their own terms, like the man without the wedding gown. People are still striving to invent their own religions. People don’t want to be bound by the Word of God. People want to earn their way to heaven, so they don’t have to admit they are sinful and helpless without God’s mercy.

Today, within the walls of the visible Christian Church, we find every possible heresy. 95% of the 60 million people who call themselves Lutheran today have no idea what that means—and that includes clergy. This very day, October 31, 1999, in Augsburg, Germany, on the anniversary of the Reformation, in the city where the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Holy Roman Emperor the Lutheran World Federation is signing away the clear Gospel of the Reformation, as together with representatives of the Pope of Rome they declare this very hour that the fight is over in regard to the doctrine of justification, and the pope has won.

The Christian Church has rotted from within. And even those who perceive the problem go looking for help in all the wrong places. Instead of turning to the pure fountain of the Gospel frustrated lay people are joining the charismatic movement in droves searching for God in false signs and wonders and in their own emotions, instead of in the Holy Scriptures. Like a giant tree infested from top to bottom with termites, the church is about to come crashing down on itself in a great cloud of dust, and only a small remnant will be left. The end is near.

Listen again to Martin Franzmann’s prayer: O Holy Love, thou canst not brook Man’s cool and careless enmity; O ruthless Love, thou wilt not look On man robed in contempt of thee. Thine echoes die; Our deeds deny Thy summoning: Our darkling cry Our meddling sound Have all but drowned that song that once made every echo ring.

Praise God we still have the message of the Reformation in our churches. It is not our doing. It is God’s grace alone.

Don’t take it for granted: The lessons of history are clear. Don’t cover your eyes and ears as all the world turns away from God. Pray for your world. Pray that Christ would come quickly before the Gospel disappears again as in the days of Noah. Pray that God would once again blow clearly on his trumpet, that the angel of the everlasting Gospel would continue to bear good tidings around the world, inviting weak and wearied souls to the eternal feast, by grace alone, through faith alone, by Scripture alone.

And pray for yourselves. You are part of the remnant who by God’s grace still have the pure Gospel and believe. But the dangers are clear and ominous. Stick to the Word. Treasure the Sacrament. Remain in your Reformation faith, till you feast at the heavenly board above with all the saints triumphant. God grant it for Jesus’ sake. Amen.