We continue on in Revelation 14 with the next parenthetical passage. Starting in verse 6 (through verse 11) John describes three angels flying through the heavens, each with a different message for the inhabitants of the earth. Here’s the first one.
“Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal Gospel to preach to the inhabitants of the earth – every nation, tribe, language and people. And he kept shouting in a loud voice, Fear God and give Him glory, because the time of His judgment has come. Worship Him Who created the heaven, the earth and salt seas and fountains of fresh water.” (Verses 6-7)
OK, let’s look at this. We have an angel flying around in full view and hearing of those on the earth. The verb “flying” is petomai, here, a present participle (indicating continuous action), meaning; the angel “kept flying”. This is another parenthetical that describes events that take place over a space of time, not a single, isolated incident. In keeping with the context (the time covered by the other two angel’s messages), we can safely conclude that this takes place during the last 3½ years of the tribulation. However, when compared to the other messages, it’s probably more towards the end of that time. For instance, the event described by the second angel takes place when the 7th vial or bowl judgment is carried out in Revelation 16:17-21. This is the final judgment event in the tribulation period.
“Every nation, tribe, language and people” is John’s way of saying, everyone – no one is excluded. Every single person on the earth hears this angel’s message over and over (I don’t know how often) during that time (and if you remember the ministry of the two witnesses in Lesson 36 and the great awakening on the earth at that time, you can see how this angel will have an impact on that as well).
This angel is flying around the earth preaching the “eternal Gospel”. This is an “unchanging” Gospel, one that is always the same. I love this. There are four simple points to this message (no poem, no history lesson, no funny anecdotes or sad stories to tug at your emotions). This message is direct and to the point.
Here we go, point one, “Fear God”. The word translated “fear” is phobeo. When used in reference to God, it means, “to reverence”. Here is where I have to say, words have meaning and meanings are important. What does it mean, “to reverence God”? It is to give Him the honor or respect that only He deserves. He’s the Sovereign Creator, the ultimate authority of all that exists. If you reverence God, then you agree that is true.
Point two is, “give Him glory”. This is doxa, a word that conveys the idea of recognizing someone for who they really are. When referring to God, it acknowledges the excellence and perfection of His divine character (who He is) and nature (what He does). In other words, He has no faults or weaknesses and is incapable of doing wrong. To give Him glory is to admit this also is true.
This is point three, “the time of His judgment has come”. In the light of all that has already happened during the first half of the tribulation period (the wars, famine, destruction, signs and wonders in the heavens, wide-spread death and all the rest), with what has to be worldwide news coverage of those things, the announcement by this angel that these events are a direct result of the judgment of God should be no surprise to anyone (even those under this judgment have acknowledged the same). And, I have no doubt this message (not to mention the way the message is delivered) will have a powerful influence on the world. God is leaving nothing to chance. All is deliberate and obvious. God, in effect, is saying, “I’m here, I’m real, I’m in control, I’m going to win in the end and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop Me”. And most people are going to respond, “I see what’s happening, I know who’s doing this, I don’t want the same thing to happen to me, I’m going with the winner, I’m on God’s side”. This is in contrast to the response of those under these judgments who resist God and determine to persist in their defiance of Him (compare Revelation 9:20-21 with 16:9, 11).
So, what do we have so far? Give God the respect that only He deserves as the ultimate authority of all that exists. Acknowledge the fact that He is doing what is right (this means no silly sentimentality or emotional attachment to those under His judgment). If you agree with Who He is, then you must accept what He does. I don’t want to start preaching here, but I have to say something. This is true loyalty; I’m personally convinced God has always required it. If you really accept Who He is, then you can’t have a problem with anything He does – not to you or to anyone else.
This leads to point four, “worship Him”. “Worship” is one of the most misused, therefore misunderstood, words in the Scriptures. Proskuneo has nothing to do with singing, especially those songs filled with wrong doctrine contrived to produce an emotional response (which then leads to the wrong conclusion that the emotional experience means you’re in the presence of God). The word means, “to bow down, to prostrate oneself in submission to authority”. The action infers obedience to whatever is required by that authority. To truly worship God is to submit to His authority in your life and agree to be obedient to whatever He requires of you.
So, this is the eternal, unchanging Gospel. Give God the respect only He deserves, recognize Who He is and what He does is good and right, acknowledge that the terrible events that have captured the attention of the world are His doing and determine to submit to Him and be obedient.
Then the second angel comes announcing, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city which made all the nations drunk with the wine of her idolatry”. As I noted earlier, this describes the events of the final vial judgment in Revelation 16:17-21, with further detail given in 18:1-24. We’ll look at that when we get to those passages in our study. As we’ll see, this is the fall and destruction of Jerusalem, which has become the center of Antichrist’s activity during the last half of the tribulation. So there’s no confusion, most translations have “fornication” where I have “idolatry” above. Here, porneia is used in a figurative sense (religious fornication is idolatry). I’ll have more on that later.