Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Revelation 14:6-7

When Luther died in 1546 it gave people pause to consider the true impact and emphasis of his life’s work. What was the essence of what he stood for? What was this Reformation really about? What was the lasting message that Luther himself would have people hold on to?

At his funeral, Luther’s friend and colleague Pastor Johannes Bugenhagen preached and while it might be unexpected to our ears today, Bugenhagen identified Luther with the angel of Revelation 14 who proclaimed ‘an eternal gospel’ to all on earth. This was not some schmalzy spirituality suggesting that people become angels when they die (which of course is not true). Rather Bugenhagen was identifying Luther as God’s messenger (angel) whose primary work was to proclaim the unadulterated gospel and to restore it to its rightful place as the central message and work of the church.

As Bugenhagen honoured Luther with this recognition, he was also rightly defining the essence of the Reformation. Still today some want to focus on the impact the Reformation had on history and the way it helped define the German nation, but it was not primarily a cultural or political movement. In fact the Reformation was not a movement, but rather a message (see Pless: 68-69). A message that God freely justifies sinners through faith alone in Christ alone. A message that calls for confidence in the Word of the Lord that endures forever (1 Peter 1:25) and who’s central message is this same eternal gospel fulfilled in Christ Jesus who ‘died for our transgressions and was raised for our justification’ (Romans 4:25).