Why "Fear God" ?

Although the antichrist has not arrived on Earth, his spirit has arrived and his spirit is actively working on the Earth today.

This is an undeniable biblical fact: that the spirit of the Antichrist is here and at work - in our nation, and in this world.    

1 John 2:18 “ Children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, already now, many have become antichrists – by which we know that it is the last hour”.

Now within this sermon, I want to focus on the climate of the world during the great tribulation in the Book of Revelation;  for if we understand the climate of the world during the great tribulation, we can better understand the trajectory of our current world. We can better understand where the tides of History are moving us closer to.

Allow me to give you some context surrounding the passage of Scripture during the great tribulation we are going to be focusing on.

In Revelation 14 the antichrist has risen to power.  His rule is marked by deception and tyranny, with the false prophet at his side performing great signs to lead astray if possible even the elect .  They establish a world order that demands allegiance; a system that embodies rebellion against the Creator.  This is the moment of humanity's last and most fatal nose dive, as the world hurtles toward the abyss.

However it is precisely at this juncture - the world's darkest hour - that God intervenes in a manner unprecedented in human History.  Never before has God done what He does in the 14th chapter of the Book of Revelation. Never before has God gone to such extraordinary lengths.  In an extraordinary act of mercy and sovereignty, He dispatches three Angels with messages of critical importance. Revelation 14:6-13 brings to us the proclamations from Heaven made by three different Angels.

In this passage the Apostle John receives a vision of three Angels flying in mid-air, each carrying a different message.

So who are these Angels, and what message do they bring to Earth?

These Angels are not just ordinary Angels; they are three special Angels sent by God to deliver a crucial message to the people on Earth.

The first Angel comes to proclaim the everlasting Gospel, calling all people to fear and worship God.

Revelation 14:6 and 7:    

“And I saw another Angel flying in the midst of the heavens, having an eternal Gospel to preach to those seated upon on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue and people, saying with a loud voice: “Fear God, and give glory to Him,  for the hour of His judgment has come, and worship Him Who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of water!”

Now the purpose of this sermon is to focus on two words. The first two words this Angel proclaims are “Fear God!”

When was the last time you heard a sermon instructing you to fear God?  Yet the very first two words this Angel proclaims are “Fear God!”. This is one of the biggest problems in our day today. You and I are living in an age where the fear of God is diminishing.

Notice this and do not miss it:

During the great tribulation this first Angel's message begins with two words: “Fear God!” This should tell you something. It should tell you the importance of the fear of God.  The whole Bible is littered with admonitions for  you and me to fear the Lord. Don't take my word for it; allow the Bible to speak for itself regarding this theme of fearing God.

Psalm 110:10  “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord and a benevolent prudence to all who enforce it.  His praising shall remain throughout the age of the ages."

Psalm 111:1 “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, as he shall strongly desire His commandments; strong shall be his seed on earth; he shall be blessed with a generation of upright ones .”

Proverbs 9:10  “The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord, and the will of saints is prudence; while knowledge of the Law is a benevolent mind's."

Ecclesiastes  12:13 “A final word: heed everything, fear God and keep his Commandments, for this is for every man.”

And this Angel - this one angel in the Book of Revelation - when preaching the Gospel, begins with “Fear God!”; yet the vast majority of people who profess to be Christians, do not even know what the fear of God is, and I can attest to this. We are living in a world that is increasingly lacking the fear of the Lord, and it is only progressively getting worse and I have seen the deterioration of the lack of the fear of the Lord in this world, in the several decades I have been on this Earth.

This reminds me of a sermon I heard from a preacher much older and wiser than I am, and he stated that the average unbelieving man walking on the street 70 years ago had more fear of the Lord than the average church member today.  Don't you think this is true?  For we do live in an age of fake Christianity - an age of “cafeteria Christianity” - where people can pick and choose what they obey and listen to in the Bible.

Isaiah 66:2  “Has not My hand made all these things, and thus they came into being?” declares the Lord;  “These are the ones I look upon with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at My word.”  

That one word “tremble” : the fear of the Lord.

There was once a time where even criminals respected churches; so much so, that any time they drove past the church they would take their hats off in respect. Such practices were part of broader societal norms, where displaying respect for religious symbols and institutions was expected and ingrained in the culture.

There was once a time where people living in unrepentant sin would tremble and fear if they walked into the house of the Lord. We have lost our sense of the holiness of God.

And a preacher once stated, Paul speaks in Romans 11 about the severity and goodness of God, in what context in His dealings with His ancient people. There is no fear of God in the church; the fear of God is absent from the church, and that's why we take the horrendous liberties that we do... for how shall we fear Him, if we have not known His severity, His judgments His dealings, how far He will go, even with His own ancient people who are still the apple of His eye, despite their fallenness?

One of the major reasons why there is a lack of the fear of God in modern day Christianity is because people do not really know who God is. They do not know how quickly the Judgment of God can befall an individual. Time and time again we see instances where this holy God judges His people instantly.

Ananias and Sapfira (Acts chapter 5:1-10): This couple in the early Church sold a piece of property but lied about the amount of money they received from the sale, pretending to donate all of it to the Church while secretly keeping some for themselves. As a result of their deceit and lying to the Holy Spirit, they both fell down and died suddenly, after Peter confronted each of them separately.

 "1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a property. 2 And he kept back  part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought only a certain part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? 4 While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”   5 Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So, great fear came upon all those who heard these things. 6 And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. 7 Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter met her, asking: “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?” She said, “Yes, for so much.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” 10 Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband. 11 So, great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things.

Nadab and Abihu were  sons of Aaron the high priest, who offered unauthorized fire before the Lord - which He had not commanded them to do. As a punishment for their disobedience and irreverence, fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, leading to their immediate death:

“1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command.  2 So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.” (Leviticus 10:1 and 2).

Not only is the fear of God diminishing because people forget how quickly the Judgment of God can befall people, they also forget who God is.  Some theologians describe this as the “otherness”,  and this “otherness” of God will allow you to walk in a new reverence of God.

The reason there is a lack of fear of the Lord in our world is because most of us have a hard time comprehending God in His holiness and in all His great glory.  As elevated and wonderful as He is, God is not a man; He is not your equal, He is not just slightly elevated above us. 

This is the fundamental problem with Humanity:  We want to make God slightly above us human beings, where we can control Him because we can understand Him. As long as our mind can grasp, form a picture, or get an idea of God, that is what we think of God.

But, brothers and sisters, I implore you not to make this mistake.  God is not a man; you cannot understand a Being Who exists outside the constraints of Time, Space and Matter. You cannot understand a Being Who lives from Everlasting to Everlasting with your little, three-pound brain.

If I could understand the whole of God with my little, three-pound brain, He would not be a God worth worshiping.  He is far above – so far beyond our human comprehension – He dwells in a place of holiness the human mind cannot comprehend. He dwells in a realm of mystery - a realm that no man knows and no man has seen.  You can see an Angel and live, but you cannot see God and live.

In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up; just a glimpse of the glory of God moved Isaiah to mourn his own sin and unworthiness:

Isaiah 55:8-9 “For my wills are not like your wills, neither are your ways like my ways”, said the Lord, “but, like the sky is far beyond the earth, so is my way far beyond your ways, and your thoughts to my mind.” 

Allow me to illustrate just how far beyond us God is. God does not need Creation, He does not need this world, He does not need a place or thing, yet He has existed from Age to Age. You and I on the other hand need this world: I need oxygen, you need to sleep 8 hours a day, you need a place to rest your head.  

God is not a mortal man, and this is what you need to remember :  God is not a human, and God does not view sin the way we flippantly view sin, as if it is a joke or a game.  The Bible says "God will not be mocked";  "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom". We need to respect God. We need a holy reverence of God...

Now back to the core of my message.

During a time when the antichrist is at his power, the first message given by this Angel is “Fear God!”-  and I believe that this is something the antichrist will continue to attempt to erode, in churches and in the world... even in 2024..  

To erode the fear of the Lord - for we are living in the end of days, we are living in the last days and one of the biggest problems in our world is this issue right here: There is a lack of the fear of the Lord :

Matthew 10:28: “And do not be in fear of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to eliminate both soul and Body inside Gehenna (=Hell).” 

There are people right now who are living like Hell itself, because they do not fear God.  They are living in complete and utter rebellion -  complete and utter, intentional rebellion against God - for one reason and one reason only: because they do not fear God. 

The fear of the Lord will keep you from sin. It will. To know that one day God will judge me for my actions; to know and to remember that my actions right now, this very moment, are being recorded by an eternal, all-seeing God; to know that all that we have done while in our bodies - both good and bad - will be judged. 

An eternal, all-seeing God, Who will one day judge me for every one of my actions. “Fear God”.

The Bible says in Proverbs 15:27a :

“By almsgiving and faith, sins are purged; and by fear of the Lord, everyone turns away from evil.”

It becomes crucial to understand the role the antichrist plays in diluting this foundational biblical principle.

The sermon thus far has painted a vivid picture of the spirit of the antichrist already at work in the world, eroding the fear of God among believers and non-believers alike. This erosion is not just a matter of fading cultural norms or shifting societal values, but a deliberate and systematic strategy employed by the antichrist.

The fear of the Lord - as Scripture repeatedly emphasizes - is the beginning of wisdom and the deterrent from evil.  When this fear is diminished or removed, it creates a spiritual vacuum where sin becomes normalized and rebellion against God goes unchecked.

Now, allow me to ask you the question:  Are we not living in a world - in a culture - where sin is normalized?  Are we not living in a world where sins that were once frowned upon are now celebrated?  There is a lack of fear of God. That is why people are drifting more toward evil, heading towards the Great Tribulation (which we are); more and more people will fear God less.

The role of the antichrist in this process is to subtly and progressively undermine the reverence and awe for God that should naturally reside in the hearts of individuals. By promoting ideologies and values that are contrary to God's word, the antichrist seeks to shift the focus from Divine accountability to humanistic and self-centered living. The erosion of the fear of God has profound implications. Without a deep-seated reverence for God, individuals are more prone to succumb to temptations and the deceit of the enemy.

They become desensitized to the Holy Spirit's conviction of sin and the need for repentance. This aligns with the scenario where the antichrist rises to power, leveraging the lack of fear of God to solidify his deceptive rule and lead many astray. The story of Ananias and Sapfira and the teachings in Isaiah underscore the immediacy and severity of God's judgment against sin. These accounts serve as reminders that God's holiness and Justice are integral aspects of His character just as much as His love and mercy.

In a world influenced by the antichrist spirit, acknowledging and revering these attributes of God becomes even more critical.

To conclude,

 Philippians 2:12:  “So that - my beloved - as always, obey - not only as (you did) in my presence, but now even more so in my absence; work for your salvation with fear and trembling.”

The word “trembling” is significant, especially in the context of this sermon. The term  “trembling” in this verse connotes a deep sense of reverence, awe, and seriousness in one's spiritual journey.  It implies that salvation is not a casual or trivial matter,  but requires a sincere and earnest attitude, acknowledging the majesty and holiness of God. This kind of trembling is not about fear in the sense of terror, but rather a profound respect and recognition of our accountability before a holy God.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so many adulterous affairs in our our day and age. 

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so much sexual immorality in our day and age. 

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so many lovers of pleasure more than of God in our day and age.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so much greed and materialism in our day and age.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so many people addicted to watching unholy, immoral videos on the internet In our day and age.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so many people who love money more than God In our day and age.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why we have so much dishonesty and deception In our day and age.

The lack of the fear of the Lord is the reason why there is a growing tendency towards violence and lawlessness in our day and age.

In a world where the Antichrist spirit is actively working to erode the fear of God, the concept of trembling becomes even more critical; it serves as a counteraction to the complacency and rebellion encouraged by the antichrist

As the fear of God diminishes, so does the sense of trembling or reverence towards Him, leading to a spiritual state where people are more susceptible to deception and sin.

Therefore the call to “work for your salvation with fear and trembling” is a call to maintain a posture of humility and respect towards God, recognizing His sovereignty and our need for His Grace.