The Three Angels Message Series with Pastor Stephen Bohr

For the Hour of His Judgment is Come - Revelation 14:7

This is a very important part of the Three Angels Messages. It is vital to understand this part of the Holy Bible. Pastor Stephen Bohr does a fantastic job at explaining this portion the Three Angels Messages, of Revelation 14:7.

I would also recommend starting at the beginning of this sermon series by Pastor Bohr.

Here are the prior posts in this blog series:

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel
2. Revelation 14:7 - Fear God
3. Revelation 14:7 - Give Glory to God

Give Glory to God - Revelation 14:7

Please read the prior posts in this series before this one if you have not.

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel
2. Revelation 14:7 - Fear God


Let's begin again by reading what the first angel's message says. The First of the Three Angels says, in Revelation 14:7, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

What does it mean to give glory to God? In the SDA Bible Commentary, Volume 7, p. 979, Ellen G. White has this to say: "To give glory to God is to reveal His character in our own, and thus make Him known. And in whatever way we make known the Father or the Son, we glorify God."

Let's look at the example of Moses. In Exodus 33:18 Moses is asking for God to show him His glory. "And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory." In verse 19, God gives His answer to Moses. "
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy." The rest of the chapter is God describing to Moses where and how He will show Moses His glory.

In chapter 34 of Exodus, from verses 5 to 7, God is showing Moses His glory. The passage reads, "5 And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.  6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,  7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."

We can see from these passages that God's glory is synonymous with both His character and His name. Think about it this way: we can see what kind of a ruler someone is or what kind of a nation a country is by the laws they make. And when we hear their names, what's the first thing to come to mind? If you guessed their reputation, you guessed right.

In his sermon on this subject entitled, How to Glorify God, (<--- click to watch) Pastor Stephen Bohr mentions an interesting point. Romans 3:23 says this: "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God..." That word for "come short," means "to lack." We all lack the glory of God. So how can we give Him something we don't have?

We've already determined that the glory of God is His character. To give glory to God means to be an example of His character to those around us. But we are born naturally sinful. We are not born with the natural desire to love God. As the Psalmist said in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me."

 We need to be an example of God's character before we can give glory to Him. But how do we have His character? We need to totally surrender to God. As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."

Giving glory to God encompasses several different things. When we totally surrender to God, He begins to transform us. We no longer like the same things we used to. We begin to abhor our sin and to do what is necessary to overcome it. No, I'm not encouraging salvation by works here. That's not Biblical. But even Jesus said, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:29-30). 

If something is causing you to sin, take the necessary steps so that you are no longer tempted to use that excuse to sin. 

Let's go over a few aspects of what it means to glorify God. 

For example, if you are not already eating healthy, the Holy Spirit will encourage you to do that. Can we honestly say we are glorifying God when we are knowing eating a bad diet? In Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14, the Bible lists clean and unclean meats. And remember, God only gave permission to eat meat after the flood, when the vegetation was largely destroyed. Now that we live in a time when we don't have to eat meat at all, why should we? 

Even Daniel and his friends, when faced with the kings diet, they requested a water and veggie diet. After 10 days, they faired better than their peers. In our day, more and more people are coming to the realization that a whole foods, plant based diet is, by far, the healthiest way to eat. For a good explanation on why a whole foods, plant based diet is better, I recommend watching Forks Over Knives (watch it free!). 

Giving glory to God also includes watching what kind of media we take in, i.e. music, tv, movies, etc.. Ask yourself, does watching this movie bring me closer to God? Does listening to this song glorify God? If you can't answer yes, don't do it. In regards to visual media, I recommend watching the programs by Little Light Studios (see their youtube and vimeo pages as well) to see the research they have done on the topic. For musical entertainment, I recommend a sermon series by  Karl Tsatalbasidis. Christian Berdahl also has resources on music as well (see his content on audioverse also). 

If there is something in our lives that does not glorify God, it needs to go. We need to ask God for the strength to resist the temptation to partake in what does not glorify Him. He promised to provide that strength in 1 Corinthians 10:13: "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

Fear God - Revelation 14:7

Please read the first post in this series:

1. Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel


The First of the Three Angels says, in Revelation 14:7, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

His first words are, "Fear God." But what does it mean to fear God? It does not mean to be afraid of God. The Bible says that God is love and that perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:16, 18). Strong's concordance (reference number G5399 ) has one definition of this word as being, "to reverence, venerate, to treat with deference or reverential obedience."

But what does it really entail? We have the definition now. But how do we apply it? Well the Bible gives us that information. We apply it one way by keeping God's commandments. If we fear God, or revere Him, we will keep His commandments.

At the end of Ecclesiastes, Solomon says this, in Ecclesiastes 12:13, "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man."

To fear God means to keep His commandments. Solomon even says that this is man's duty. We were created to worship and keeping God's law is part of that. Some teach that we don't have to keep God's law anymore, but that could not be further from the truth. Some call it legalism to keep God's law. But Jesus said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15. And again in 1 John 5:3, we read, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."

So we keep God's law because we love Him. It is the same as being faithful to your spouse. You love your spouse and will not have affairs because of that love for them. You will do your best to do what makes them happy, because you love them. It is the same in our relationship with God. We obey His law because we love Him. We do not obey His law in order to be saved but because we already are saved.

This can be likened to how we are to treat our parents. Pastor Stephen Bohr, in his sermon on this very subject (to watch the sermon, click here) brings up Leviticus 19:3. It says, "Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God." Later on in the same chapter, verse 14 says, "Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord." The word for fear is the same word in both texts. We are to have a profound respect for God, as Pastor Stephen Bohr states.

The Bible also says, in a couple of places, that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalm 111:10 and Proverbs 9:10). The fear, or reverence, of God leads us closer to Him. Psalm 111:10 reads, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever."

The fear of God not only leads us to wisdom, it leads us to loving obedience in Him. We cannot obey God in our own strength. (Matthew 19:16-26). The Bible is full of examples of men and women who feared God and became very close to Him. Moses. Job. Daniel. Mary the mother of Jesus. Mary Magdelene. Because of the fear they had for God, they grew to love Him more than life itself.

Moses, considered to be the most humble man in the Bible, and likely in all the history of this planet, spoke with God face to face. (Exodus 33:11). When Daniel and his friends were faced with eating the kings meat, they wisely chose to eat a simple diet of vegetables and water and fared better than everyone else.(Daniel 1:12-15). Solomon is another example. In 1 Kings 3:1-15, is the story of when God appeared to Solomon in a dream and asked what he wanted. Solomon asked for wisdom, which pleased God. And as a result, God blessed him.

The fear of God means to revere Him, to have a profound respect for Him. It also means to keep His commandments because we love Him. When we do this, we will spend time with Him and time in His word. When we spend time with God and time in His word, He blesses us with wisdom. This is a clear concept in the Bible. Even the apostle James said this: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5.

Revelation 14:6 - The Everlasting Gospel

This is my first real blog post in quite some time. I apologize for that. I have no good excuse.

The Three Angels' Message is found in Revelation 14:6-12. I want to study a key term/phrase found in verse 6, that term being the Everlasting Gospel. Revelation 14:6 says this:

"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,"

The Everlasting Gospel. What is it? Let's go back a chapter and see what Revelation 13:8 says: "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

Obviously Jesus was not slain at the foundation (aka the creation) of this world. However, the plan was set in place before the world was even created that Jesus would become the ransom in case man would fall. Check out what Ellen G. White has to say in her book, The Desire of Ages, page 834, in the middle of paragraph two:

"Before the foundations of the earth were laid, the Father and the Son had united in a covenant to redeem man if he should be overcome by Satan. They had clasped Their hands in a solemn pledge that Christ should become the surety for the human race. This pledge Christ has fulfilled."

There's more.

Revelation 14:6 is an introductory verse to the Three Angels' Messages. This verse mentions that the first angel has the everlasting gospel to preach to the world. The actual message is found in the following verse, verse 7. If verse 6 says the first angel has the everlasting gospel to preach to the world, then by default verse 7 must be the definition, at least in part, of what the everlasting gospel is.

It says, "Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

We find in verse 7 a few key points. The everlasting gospel means to fear God and to give glory to Him. Why? "for the hour of his judgment is come..." It also means to worship God. Again, why? Because He "made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters."

We'll get into verse 7 in more detail in another post. (It includes the doctrine of the seventh day Sabbath as well as the judgment). So the everlasting gospel means that the plan of salvation was established before the world fell; it means to fear God, to give Him glory, and to worship Him.

The reasons for doing those three things is also part of the everlasting gospel. The judgment is part of it as well, as is the fact that God created the world and everything in it. Look once again at what Ellen G. White has to say about it in her book, Christ's Object Lessons p. 227:

"John in the Revelation foretells the proclamation of the gospel message just before Christ’s second coming. He beholds an angel flying “in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” Revelation 14:6, 7. In the prophecy this warning of the judgment, with its connected messages, is followed by the coming of the Son of man in the clouds of heaven. The proclamation of the judgment is an announcement of Christ’s second coming as at hand. And this proclamation is called the everlasting gospel. Thus the preaching of Christ’s second coming, the announcement of its nearness, is shown to be an essential part of the gospel message."

The everlasting gospel is everlasting. It is eternal. The plan of salvation was made before man fell, and the gospel will never fade away. Even in heaven, people will learning more about Jesus and what He did for us. Many will ask Jesus, "What happened to your hands and feet?"

Until next time, keep studying my friends. Jesus loves us.

The Three Angels Messages: The First Angel

In the first angels message of Revelation 14:6-7, we have an interesting piece of grammar. It says to fear God, give glory to Him, and to worship Him. These are not suggestions. They are imperatives, or, in other words, commands. Fear God and give glory to Him. Why? "for the hour of his judgment is come," Revelation 14:7. Worship God. Why? "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and

the fountains of waters." Revelation 14:7

What is the sign of God that His true worshipers will have?

Genesis 2:2-3 And on the SEVENTH day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the SEVENTH day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the SEVENTH day, and SANCTIFIED it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Exodus 20:8-11

King James Version (KJV)

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the SEVENTH day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Three Angels Message (playlist)