Stephen
Terry, Director
“ ‘Fear God and Give Glory to Him’ ”
Commentary
for the April 22, 2023, Sabbath School Lesson
“Then I saw another angel
flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live
on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and
people. He said in a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give him glory, because the hour
of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea,
and the springs of water.’” Revelation 14:6-7,
NIV
It is hard to
reconcile the dissonance between Jesus, the gentle Shepherd, and a vengeful
return with fire and blood where everyone who ignored Jesus is going to get pulverized
in revenge. It is harder still to understand how John, the disciple often
referred to as “the beloved,” and who wrote that “God is love,”[i] and ”perfect love
drives out fear,”[ii] could also tell us to
be afraid of God. Some, like Martin Luther, felt this was because someone else
wrote Revelation, so he originally did not want to include it in his German
translation of the Bible. Others have been willing to attribute this to the
fuzziness that can occur with translation when words and phrases cannot be translated
literally. For instance, we can love a sandwich, love our sibling, or love our
spouse. While we use the same verb in each case, we know from our cultural
experience that each carries different rights and expectations. Those in other
cultures may find this ambiguous or even silly when talking about loving food.
This is because they have more precise verbs for describing the attraction
between the speaker and the object they are attracted to.
This situation also happens in reverse. The Greek that our New
Testament is translated from used the word “fear” in a more ambiguous sense
that was also understood in their cultural context. We try to understand the
implications of that context when we translate the word as “fear,” “reverence,”
“respect,” or “submit.” However, each of those brings with it the cultural
baggage of the receiving culture. For instance, when Paul worte to the
Ephesians, he used the same word in Ephesians 5:33, that translators render as “fear”
in Revelation 14:7. Are wives to live in terror of their husbands? That is one
possible translation of the Greek. It is the same word we get our word “phobia”
from. Most would question whether that could be a happy marriage. But even
using a less dynamic word such as “submit,” while still possible from the Greek,
is also problematic for it places an emphasis on an imagined disparity in
status between husband and wife. In most places on earth, women were not seen
as attaining any sort of equality with men until the twentieth century, and
even today, the struggle for equality continues. Words such as “fear” and “submit”
in the translations of the letter to the Ephesians certainly have not helped
correct that narrative. Notably, the King James Version says wives should “reverence”
their husbands. While this is an improvement it still implies a worshipful
attitude which can be abused. I prefer the word “respect” as the word, when
used by Paul in Romans 13:7 is translated in the New International Version.
This same word is translated as “fear” in the King James Version, even though
it was toned down in Ephesians. The problems created by such inconsistencies
even within a single translation highlight the difficulties when dealing with
the simple phrase, “fear God.”
Are we to cringe in abject terror before a vengeful God? When
we read the mythologies of ancient Greece and Rome, it is easy to see how those
stories could have influenced the understood character of God. When members of
those pantheons felt the least slight from humanity, their ire quickly reached
a boiling point and death of the offender was often the result, even if the
slight was unintentional. They were like bullies walking around with a chip on their
shoulder daring some gullible human being to knock it off. Almost fifty years
ago, one of my theology professors told me that he felt that these pagan
deities were real and were the fallen angels that Revelation tells us were cast
from heaven. If humanity has been offered the opportunity to take their places
in heaven, that would explain their bitterness and anger toward the human race.
It also explains their willingness to misrepresent the character of God by
their example. Could their fear of such vengeful gods have been used as a tool by
some Christians to maneuver them towards God? It would not be the first time
that fear was used as a tool of manipulation by religion and certainly hasn’t
been the last time.
This highlights the problem in the text of the first angel’s
message in Revelation 14. We are told that he is proclaiming the gospel which
is simply an older English word for “good news” or “good speak.” How can a
message to fear be good news? Perhaps a better translation would have been “respect,”
“reverence,” or even “honor.” This would be more in harmony with the idea of “worship.”
This appeal is made based on his beneficence as Creator of all. Worship is born
of gratitude, not fear. When I look up at the Milky Way spread across the night
sky, it is not fear I feel, but awe, and even love of God who created such
beauty. As David wrote, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies
proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night
after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no
sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their
words to the ends of the world.”[iii] When I see daily the
beauty of Creation, I see a mirror reflecting the beauty of the image of the
One who made it.
We can imagine Adam in the Garden of Eden as God brought each
animal to him to see what he would call it, and them enjoying one another’s
company in the process. While the story may be metaphorical, such touches are
revelatory about the character of God. That character does not come across as
someone watching for every opportunity to inflict pain and punishment. This was
God who walked with Adam and Eve in that garden and was broken hearted when
instead of welcoming him, they hid. Anyone who has experienced betrayal knows
how deep that pain can cut. But even that betrayal shows the closeness of the
relationship between God and humanity, for only a friend can betray the relationship.
Enemies have no friendship to betray. The closeness of God’s relationship to
humanity was also revealed when Jesus wept over the death of Lazarus.[iv] He felt keenly the pain
of that separation just as keenly as the pain when Adam and Eve betrayed their
relationship with God.
This is a God, who through the cross, offers us forgiveness
for that betrayal that occurred so long ago. So many tears have flowed since
then, tears shed by both God and humanity. Those tears represent repentance for
all that has gone before and are earnest for baptism, a symbol of renewal, a
reboot of life, a do over. Despite all that has transpired, God proposes to us
as a prospective bridegroom proposes to the one he loves. He is welcoming and
embracing all who have said “Yes!” to his proposal.
Is it reasonable to expect such treatment from one whom we
have betrayed, not once, but consistently? Sadly, instead of meeting God hand-in-hand
as Adam and Eve did in that long ago garden where they felt the warmth of his
presence in their hearts, we try over and over again to fill that ancient
emptiness with relationships with those who are just as empty as we are. God is
the glue that fixes that brokenness and allows us to find wholeness in each
other. When we bond to him, we bond with one another. Then we can set aside our
demands to be pleased in the relationship and in respect and reverence with God’s
love as our light, we can each selflessly seek the honor of the other.
Fear has no place in human relationships. Trust cannot exist
where fear lives. Fear drives us to do those things we would not otherwise do.
This is why those craving power find fear useful. They hope if they can make us
fearful, we will accept their agenda and their lust for power. Even the church
has succumbed to such threatenings when their relationship to God and his love has
been neglected. Censure, defrocking, and disfellowshipping are all tools of
fear-based religion. If we are honest, we can admit these are only milder forms
of burning of heretics as done in ages past. The spirit is the same. There is a
better path, and we are capable of it. To walk that road, we must be willing to
eschew manipulation through fear and instead seek the reconciliation of love.
We can start by not being offended on God’s behalf. When we do, we imply that without
our swift and harsh intervention God will lose control. But God never loses
control. Let us learn to love like he does,[v] lest we damage the
harvest and lose our own way as well.[vi]