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.” Revelation 14:7

This is our message to the world, which should make people tremble. It has been proclaimed since 1831, and now we are closer to the end of the judgment, which determines the destiny of every human being. The purpose of this message is to prepare the people for the judgment hour. But only a few people take this message seriously. Most do not give glory to God; instead of giving glory to God, they give it to men of talent, to the sportsmen, and to the wisest, and most educated, and to the wealthiest—and God is forgotten.

“When men cast off the fear of God they are not long in departing from honour and integrity.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 557

Those who have lost the fear of God have no respect for the word of God; it is neglected and ignored. Neither have they respect for the house of God, because they do not feel the presence of God; therefore, the sanctuary where we meet God is to them a common house where they can play, whisper, and turn their minds to other themes.

“Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool: where is the house that ye build unto Me? and where is the place of My rest? For all those things hath Mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.” Isaiah 66:1–2

God will look to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at His word.

“For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart: And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:) But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.” Hebrews 12:18–24

We are not only meeting people in our church, but we are in the presence of the eternal, mighty God and His angels, and the Holy Spirit. The question comes, who shall be able to stand before God in the storm that is before us, and in the judgment hour?

The answer is, only those who have heeded the warning to fear God, and give glory to Him: who made the heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. This time our faith and loyalty will be tested to the utmost, and only a few will remain faithful in our churches. It is lack of knowledge that causes many professed Christians to lose their faith. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee.” Hosea 4:6

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.” Proverbs 1:7

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10

Many professing Christians do not have the fear of the Lord. In secret, in their private life, sins are committed, which human eyes may not witness, but God who sees all turns away from such professors of religion.

Moses realized that God was with him, watching his every step, listening to his every word, and reading his every thought. “By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.” Hebrews 11:27

What does the fear of the Lord do to us? “The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate.” Proverbs 8:13

“The fear of the LORD prolongeth days.” Proverbs 10:27. The fear of the Lord gives us a long life, even life eternal.

“In the fear of the LORD is strong confidence: and His children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.” Proverbs 14:26–27

“By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life.” Proverbs 22:4

But, what happens to those who fear man? “The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25

When the people of Israel had come to Mount Sinai, to the presence of God, they trembled with fear. Even Moses said, “I exceedingly fear and quake,” so terrible was the sight. We have come also to the presence of God the Father, Jesus, and the angels.

How respectful we must be in the presence of all these heavenly beings. The prophets were filled with solemn awe in the presence of an angel, and cast themselves to the ground. But many did not have this fear of God, they had fear of men.

Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron did not fear God; they brought strange fire into the sanctuary to satisfy men. “And Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.” Numbers 3:4

Also, Uzza did not fear God; he touched the ark of covenant which God had forbidden. “And when they came unto the threshingfloor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the ark; for the oxen stumbled. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzza, and He smote him, because he put his hand to the ark: and there he died before God.” 1 Chronicles 13:9–10

The men of Bethshemesh did not fear God; they looked into the ark of God, which was forbidden. “And He smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD , even He smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter. And the men of Bethshemesh said, Who is able to stand before this holy LORD God? and to whom shall He go up from us?” 1 Samuel 6:19–20

“When the Israelites first settled in Canaan they acknowledged the principles of the theocracy, and the nation prospered under the rule of Joshua. But an increase in population and intercourse with other nations brought a change. The people adopted many of the customs of their heathen neighbours and thus sacrificed to a great degree their own peculiar, holy character. Gradually they lost their reverence for God and ceased to prize the honour of being His chosen people.” –Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 603

Let us not forget that we do not stand before a man, but we stand before God; to Him we must answer and give account. Often we do not have a clear picture of the greatness of God, neither of His holiness. Yet the Bible and nature reveals to us a glimpse of Him.

I read in an astronomy book about the stars and galaxies. In the Milky Way, to which we belong, there are 70 billion stars, and there are billions of these galaxies. Some galaxies they have found to be more than 15 billion light years away—light, which travels seven times around our world in one second. More than 15 billion years ago, Christ made this galaxy and now the light is reaching our planet. “To whom then will ye liken Me, or shall I be equal? Saith the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power; not one faileth.” Isaiah 40:26

Christ knows them all by name; He made them all and cares for them. Yet He has time to attend to us, to listen to our prayers, and care for us, and to be with us to the end. Yet, many tell Christ to wait; they are too busy now with other things. They say, later when I have time, I will come to You. They have the attitude that Christ is their servant; when they have need, they will call on Him.

They say, “Protect me, bless me, and in return I give you a few hours of my precious time, and also even some of my money.” Will such people be in heaven one day? No—never. Yet this is a common attitude toward God. People love themselves more than they love God.

Let us fall before the great and holy God, trembling, and with solemn respect.

Fear God and give glory to Him. This is the message which we must proclaim to the world. All who fear God lose their fear of men. Amen.

Timo Martin