Verse 7
The angel spoke loudly, revealing his urgency and concern. The loudness of his voice implies that everyone will hear his message. He called earth-dwellers to fear God (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13; Luke 12:5), to acknowledge their accountability to Him (cf. Romans 1:32). To give God glory means to repent having acknowledged His attributes (cf. Deuteronomy 6:13; Deuteronomy 10:20; Matthew 4:10; Acts 14:15-17). [Note: Swete, p. 182; Lenski, p. 430.] The positive response to this invitation appears in Revelation 15:4 and the negative response in Revelation 16:9; Revelation 16:11; Revelation 16:21. The reason for fearing God is that the hour of His judgment has come. This is the very last chance that these unbelievers will have to change their allegiance from Satan to God before the final judgments of the Great Tribulation begin.
The angel referred to natural revelation in making this appeal. Some commentators believed the eternal gospel is the witness of natural revelation that has gone out since Creation. [Note: E.g., Wiersbe, 2:607.] God is worthy of worship because He is the Creator, and He has the right to judge what He has created (cf. Nehemiah 9:6; Psalms 33:6-9; Psalms 146:6). The four categories of creation encompass all of it. The first four bowl judgments will affect each of these four aspects of creation (Revelation 16:2-9).
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