Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #13 of Revelation, chapter 14, and we are continuing to look at Revelation14:7:
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.
We saw last time that the command to “Fear God, and give glory to him” has everything to do with salvation. This everlasting Gospel that the messenger of God flying in the midst of heaven proclaims is to be preached to all that dwell on the earth is pointing to the sending forth of the Word of God during the second part of the Great Tribulation, the Latter Rain period. During the Latter Rain the great multitude from every tribe and nation and tribe and kindred of the peoples of the world heard the Gospel and God saved the remaining ones that were to become saved, those whose names were recorded from the foundation of the world in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
God used the information He had unsealed at the time of the end during the Great Tribulation period. God revealed many truths, such as annihilation (the proper Biblical teaching on the judgment of God), truths about the end of the church age and truth about the date that judgment would begin on the world at the end of the 23-year Great Tribulation period and the appointed Day of Judgment, May 21, 2011, when judgment would begin on the world – the day the door to heaven would shut and the day the light of the Gospel would go out. God sent forth that message, in particular, like no other message before it; it stands alone in history and there has never been such a worldwide proclamation in the way that May 21, 2011 was proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the earth. We were witnesses to that. We have never witnessed anything like that before and people that have lived for many decades have never witnessed anything like that, with the electronic medium coming into play in such a major way. The breadth of that proclamation could never have even been possible before our day.
It is certain that there was no worldwide proclamation in centuries past that could compare to what happened in the days leading up to May 21, 2011; they did not have the technology and ability to broadcast on the radio and the internet and satellite or to fly a tract team to a far nation for 10 days and then fly to another nation for 10 days, and so on, in the way that God’s people were covering the nations on tract trips. There was not a news media that had the capability in centuries past to broadcast this news to millions and millions of people. So it is not an exaggeration and it is not a hyperbolic statement to say that what happened in the years leading up to May 21, 2011 had never occurred before in the history of the world. It was unprecedented in the way that God brought this to pass and many of us were privileged to be a part of it and all of us were privileged to witness the fulfillment of what the Lord said in Matthew 24:14:
And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
That was exactly what took place. The Gospel was preached unto all nations and then the end came; that is, Judgment Day came and we are living in the end of the world. We are living in the Day of Judgment. Now some people just do not get that. They cannot grasp or comprehend that because they have their minds made up – they are convinced that Christ will come and the world is immediately destroyed and we go to be with the Lord in heaven. Well, there are all sorts of Scripture that will not support that conclusion. For instance, the Bible says, “In those days after that tribulation,” and can they explain that? Can they explain why it refers to a “time” immediately after the tribulation when the sun is darkened and the moon does not give its light and the stars have fallen and, yet, there is still a period of time called “those days” which Mark 13:24 says takes place after the Tribulation? No, they cannot explain it and, actually, the truth is they do not even try; they do not want to explain it; they do not even want to touch the topic of the coming of Christ any longer or details about the end of the church age and the Great Tribulation. They just want to move on: “We just want it to be the day of salvation and we are not concerned any longer.” This is basically what is taking place today. There is a lack of concern about harmonizing the Scripture concerning all these things because the Scriptures harmonize in a way that they do not like. The Scriptures harmonize around the teaching that Judgment Day came “immediately after the tribulation,” on May 21, 2011, the day that God said it would and salvation ended on that day and they do not like that. They demand that salvation continue and, therefore, all kinds of Scriptures do not fit their doctrines which they are insisting upon at this time. What is their solution? When you cannot harmonize the Bible and solve these kinds of Scriptural problems, the solution is to ignore it and the solution is to focus on other things and that is exactly what these people are doing. They are not looking into Matthew 24, or Luke 21, or Mark 13 or the Book of Revelation. They are not looking into Jeremiah 50 and Jeremiah 51, and so forth. Actually, they are not looking into anything. That is the sad reality at this point with many that have gone back from the things they once held and which God had kindly and graciously opened up to His people. He has revealed to us these mysteries of the kingdom and unsealed them at the time of the end.
It really leads to the conclusion that those that have gone back are really unfaithful stewards of the mysteries of God. As 1Corinthians, chapter 4, tells us, God’s people are stewards of the mystery of God. Christ spoke in parables and in mysteries. The mysteries of the Bible are its hidden truths and only God’s elect are stewards of these mysteries because professed believers that are not true believers just do not understand them. And how can the churches be stewards of the mysteries of God? It is only God’s elect people that can be faithful stewards and God placed these wonderful and glorious truths under our care. We are caretakers of the Gospel of the mysteries of the Word of God, in that sense. Some people turn back from these things, but they have no proof of error. The timeline is still correct. It still stands. They just turned back because they do not see what they thought they would see with their physical eyes and they are giving evidence of being unfaithful stewards of the mysteries that God revealed to us. But the Lord’s people are faithful stewards because God causes them to be good and faithful stewards and they will give meat in season to others that are in need of spiritual nourishment.
Let us go back to Revelation 14 and we will move on to the next part of the verse, in Revelation 14:7:
… Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come…
“For the hour of his judgment is come.” Literally, when we look at the original Greek, this reads this way: “For came the hour of his judgment.” It is a past tense. Let me say it this way. Let us say that the hour of judgment begins at 5:00 PM and, actually, when we read the parable of the workers going into the vineyard the Lord likens the work day to 12 hours. There was a group that was hired at the 11th hour and then the work day came to an end and that “last hour,” from the 11th to the 12th hour, relates to the Great Tribulation period. So, as far as the Jewish work day went, 5 PM to 6 PM would be the “last hour” because the work day began at 6 AM.
So let us say the hour of judgment on the churches begins at 5 PM. Up until 5 PM, it could have been said that judgment WILL come, but once 5 PM is reached, it is proper to say “For came the hour of his judgment.” That time has been reached and it is the hour that judgment begins, the last hour, and that is what our verse is saying: “For came the hour of his judgment.” So what we are reading about the everlasting Gospel being preached and the command to fear God and give glory to Him (which relates to salvation) is all taking place after the hour of judgment is come. Again, that “hour” relates to the Great Tribulation.
This language is found three times in reference to the “hour.” We find in Revelation 18:10:
Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
We can see that this is very similar to what we have in Revelation 14:7. But let me read it as it is stated, literally, and this is from Jay Green’s Interlinear Translation: “For in one hour came your judgment,” instead of the “for in one hour is thy judgment come.” So this verse tells us not that judgment came, but in “one hour came judgment,” and that is different than Revelation 14:7, which is focused on “came the hour of his judgment.” Again, when 5 PM was reached it began, but in Revelation 18:10 the emphasis is upon “one hour,” that is, the judgment on Babylon came upon the close of the “one hour” that typified the Great Tribulation. It is different than what Revelation 14:7 is saying, but it is perhaps not that easy to recognize. But let us go back to our verse because we will have time to look at Revelation, chapter 18, when we get to that point.
Let me read the rest of our verse in Revelation 14:7:
… for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
It says, “Worship him,” and, of course, this refers to God the Creator, the Almighty, the all powerful God of the Bible. The Bible tells us about God as the Creator at its very beginning and let me go back to this just to remind us. It says in Genesis 1:1:
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
As we go on to read that chapter, it says that God spoke and said, “Let there be,” and as soon as He spoke, things came into being from nothing. God has that incredible and glorious ability to speak a Word and to create – to create living things, to create creatures to fill the earth. There was a wide variety of creatures: creatures that crawl; creatures that climb trees; creatures that fly in the sky; creatures that swim in the oceans. There were insects and elephants and whales and they were of all sizes. And, of course, the crown of His creation was mankind, created in the image and likeness of God. It was all accomplished when God spoke the Word.
The Bible tells us: “The word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than a twoedged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit.” Now God means that. He has placed limitations on His Word since the Bible was completed; He does not demonstrate the creative power of His voice and Word in an outward, visible way for men to see. God does not speak and part the sea in our time and He does not cause water to gush out of a rock or manna to fall from heaven; He does not slay giants or cause the walls of a city, like Jericho, to fall. He does not perform so many of the tremendous and miraculous things that He had done. God no longer heals the sick at His Word, or heals the deaf at His Word, or brings life to the dead at His Word. God could do that (and much, much more), but according to His infinite wisdom and plan, He determined to just give us the Bible. Once it was completed, He is saying, “This is my complete communication to mankind and to my people. Here it is.” That Bible had power and that Bible had mighty ability to save sinners and all God had done in the physical realm via miraculous healings, He did perform, spiritually, when He would save sinners. He did give spiritual eyes and spiritual ears and spiritual life to the dead. God did all those things, but He chose mighty works in the invisible, spiritual realm over the course of these last 2,000 years in order that it might be “by faith.” It is all according to God’s plan and program. He wanted and desired for it to be this way.
But we should not think that God’s word lacks power just because God has placed limitations upon the power of His own Word concerning the outward, visible realm which man can see. His Word is powerful and that is why God likens His Word to thunder and lightening: “The voice of the Lord thundereth,” and it is a mighty, powerful Word.
I think I got off course a little bit, but God said, in Revelation 14:7: “Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea.” Worship the One that spoke and brought this whole creation into being. He did it in a split second – He speaks and He creates. At the end of time, He will speak and destroy. Then He will speak, again, and create a new heaven and a new earth. What awaits the child of God is beyond our ability to understand. It is beyond our ability to fathom the wonderful blessings and riches God has in store for each one of His people.
There are many verses that tell us of God the Creator, but there are not too many that mention these three things, as we read here: ““Worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea.” When we look up references to God making heaven and earth, we find several verses, but I was not able to find too many where the “sea” is included. It says in Psalm 146 I found one place. It says in Psalm 146:5-8:
Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in JEHOVAH his God: Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever: Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. JEHOVAH looseth the prisoners: JEHOVAH openeth the eyes of the blind: JEHOVAH raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:
Here, God first mentions that he made “heaven, and earth, and the sea,” and then He speaks of executing judgment for the oppressed, giving food to the hungry, loosening the prisoners, opening the eyes of the blind and raising them that are bowed down. These are all figures of salvation and that is interesting because in our verse in Revelation 14:7, it says: “And worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” I think that God is again saying, “I am the mighty Creator and this is the Word that has such power to create all things visible and invisible, all the creation you see around you in this world and in this universe. It is a result of the powerful Word that comes forth from my mouth.” Then God links it to His Gospel by adding “and the fountains of waters.” For instance, it says in Isaiah 41:18:
I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Spiritually, this has to do with the sending forth of the Word of God, the Gospel, and this is where the term “fountains of waters” leads us. It says in Revelation 7:17:
For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters:
Also, it says in Revelation 21:6:
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
So these statements tie in with the Gospel. God, who created the world, likewise, created the Gospel of salvation to redeem a people for Himself and they would become new creatures through the power of the glorious Word of God.