What Is The Gospel? (Poem)

Hey, for you, when does an absolutely GREAT story begin? 

Is it when the germ or seed of the story is planted,

Or when to you, the understanding of it is granted, 

Or when you feel you relate to it, and ‘see yourself’ therein? 

Does a story’s greatness begin as upon it you linger, 

Pondering the plot, actors, scenes or the unfolding intrigue, 

Being mesmerized by the storyteller’s skillful mystique? 

Is it when with the story’s climax you would like …to tinker? 

The beginning of a GREAT story isn’t when I read/hear it, 

But when I stop to ponder it ‘til I appreciate it. 

That’s when the story’s essence settles somewhere in my spirit, 

And I find some relevance to my life to derive from it. 

Most of us define the Gospel as the story of Jesus, 

Born of a virgin, without any stain of human sin, 

Thus, qualified to deliver us from the fix we’re in, 

Sacrificed as The Lamb of God, so as sons, He’ll receive us. 

Indeed, that IS The Gospel …in a nutshell. 

But with a nutshell, what really hungry person is satisfied?! 

Only when that proverbial nut is cracked can hunger subside! 

I’ll share what The Gospel IS, out of this shell. 

The Gospel isn’t just the first four books of The New Testament, 

Nor just the story that sandwiches Christmas and Easter. 

It’s what bridges the distant past to the distant future, 

And speaks to every aspect of the human predicament! 

The Gospel… 

Like no story that has ever been told, 

Or no story that’s yet to be conceived!

By ALL, it’s beginning must be perceived, 

The Lord’s mystery, by devils long trolled. 

The Gospel… 

Though its ‘conception’ pre-dated all creation, 

It’s ‘telling’ began in Genesis 3:15,

Based on LOVE that was expressed in John 3:16, 

Bespeaking The Lord’s pre-, in- and post-carnation. 

Between these verses, The Lord found a man, 

From whom He derived a family and people, 

Whom He groomed to develop strong faith, not feeble, 

Through whom He would come to fulfill God’s plan. ¹

Over thousands of years, their faith ebbed much more than it flowed! 

And as promised, they paid greatly for their sinfulness. 

And many times, He wooed them back to His righteousness, 

As in-and-out of the land He promised them, they yo-yoed!! ² 

Yet The Lord was willing to take on their genealogy, ³ 

To fulfill His Father’s call, 

To grant salvation to all, 

Knowing most of them would not embrace Him affectionally. 

The ‘top brass’ among them conspired to have Him sentenced, 

To the most gruesome form of death imaginable! 

To them all, The Gospel’s seed, was imperceptible. 

But even in the grave, His message was not silenced. ⁴ 

The Gospel continues to its predicted conclusion. 

Though many think its climax was His resurrection, 

Or will be His Millennial Reign coronation. ⁵

It’ll be after devils’ and demons’ …hellish induction! 

Shortly after The Lord’s promised Great White Throne judgment, 

The final chapter of The Gospel will unfold. 

The heavens will melt and be rolled up, like a scroll. (wOw) 

On a new Earth, all folks conceived will be residents. ⁶ 

With a proviso… 

Nations of the redeemed righteous will forever thrive, 

While into the lake of fire un-redeemed sinners will be cast, 

With every devil and demon, no longer spirits, at last, 

Together forever, where …‘their worm never dies’! ⁷

By His Spirit, THIS is The Lord’s Gospel message, 

Not shrunken into a neat, nutshell ‘Christmas version’. 

It’s one that spans …from creation-to-recreation, 

With both a glorious and a dreadful presage. 

Friends, THIS is ‘The Gospel’ that you should comprehend.

It’s not just the ‘nutshell version’ that to us has been relayed.

From Genesis-to-Revelation, to us it is conveyed.

Now that you know it, pray tell, which shall be …your end?? ⁸

Here is why to this I call attention:

If the rapture is delayed until ‘The Gospel’ is preached worldwide,

But now worldwide, it is the nutshell version that's amplified,

Will that be enough to get the job done?? ⁹

^Selah...

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¹ Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob

² See: Our Land-minded God

³ See: Matthew 1:1-17

⁴ Before Pentecost, not even Jesus’ apostles perceived the strategic reason for His death. Also see: Ephesians 4:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:18-20 

⁵ See: The 4^th Delegation of Authority (Series), especially Parts 4, 5, and 6

⁶ See: Earth’s Next Versions (Series), Understanding Eden (Series), and Hell: Is This the Man? (Poem). NB: ‘All folks conceived’ includes YoU.

⁷ Four times, very clearly, as if to ensure we get the message, The Lord iterates this warning in Isaiah 66: 22-24 (the end of The Bible’s longest, deepest, most prophetic book), and in Mark 9:42-48. There are some wild interpretations of the concept, ‘their worm does not die’. Try to interpret it in light of Job 25:6, Psalm 22:6 and Isaiah 41:14. I seriously doubt The Lord is signifying there will be immortal worms in the lake of fire. Rather, I believe He is inferring people in there will be immortal beings, fully able to perceive, and to feel pains, pangs and eternal regrets for their earthly, God-rejecting lifestyles … forever. See: Proof of Their Immortality (Poem)

⁸ See: Prayer of Salvation (Poem) and especially Your Salvation Status (Q&A) and Audacious Christians (Series), especially Part 2

⁹ See: Matthew 24:14