The purpose of the book of Revelation for our generation is to prepare a people to be ready for Jesus’ soon return and to unite with Him in giving His last-day message to the world. Revelation reveals the plans of God and unmasks the plans of Satan. It presents God’s final appeal, His urgent, eternal, universal message for all humanity.
Read the apostle John’s urgent end-time appeal in Revelation 14:7. (See also Genesis 22:12; Psalm 89:7; Proverbs 2:5; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; Ephesians 5:21.) What specific instruction does he give us?
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The Greek New Testament word for “fear” in Revelation 14:7 is phobeo. It is used here not in the sense of being afraid of God but in the sense of reverence, awe, and respect. It conveys the thought of absolute loyalty to God and full surrender to His will. It is an attitude of mind that is God-centered rather than self-centered. It is the opposite of Lucifer’s attitude in Isaiah 14:13-14, when he says in his heart, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High“ (NKJV).
Instead, it is the attitude of Christ, who, though “being in the form of God … humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:6, Philippians 2:8, NKJV).
The essence of the great controversy revolves around submission to God. Lucifer was self-centered. He refused to submit to any authority except his own. Rather than submit to the One upon the throne, Lucifer desired to rule from the throne. Put simply, to fear God is to place Him first in our thinking. It is to renounce our self-centeredness and pride and to live a life wholly for Him.
And it obviously must be important because it’s the first words out of the mouth of the first angel of the three.
Hence, we must take heed.
| What has been your own experience of fearing God? How would you explain to someone, in a positive way, why “the fear of God” is something good? |
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