Description
Awe and Fear of God’s Judgment
In this episode, we delve into Revelation 14:7, where an angel proclaims God’s imminent … (visit YouTube for more)
Transcript
Revelation, chapter 14, verse 7. 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.
This is an angel speaking to John in one of his Revelation visions. And I think one of the things we have to do with Revelation is imagine ourselves as the recipients, the direct recipients of those visions. If we’d seen an angel in a loud voice speaking these things, "Fear God, give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come", what might our reaction be?
Now normally when we’re doing these meditations and the word "fear" comes up, it’s reverence fear we’re talking about, holding God in awe and esteem. But I think in this verse there’s a little bit of the sense of terror fear as well, because God’s judgment may give us grounds for genuinely fearing what might happen because of our own awareness of our sin, our guilt, and our failings.
That fear should last but a moment because we can remember all that Jesus has done for us, the sacrifice he’s made, and how he’s paid for our sins and therefore we don’t come under God’s condemnation. But still, this is a scary thought. The living God, the most powerful Being ever, Is now bringing judgment.
Let us not forget, in our devotional times, in our meditation on scripture, let us not forget that there is an end coming, and that end for those who reject God is not good. So may we respect these facts, respect our God, and do all that we can, so far as it depends on us, to shed the light of Christ in our families, to our friends, in our communities, in our workplaces, in our schools and colleges and places of learning, wherever we go: let us bring the fragrance of Christ, so that by all means possible, many will escape that hour of judgment.
