The Creator of the universe is the true and only object of worship. No man, no angel, is worthy of worship. This is the prerogative of God only. Creatorship is one of the distinguishing features of the true God in contrast with false deities (Jer. 10:11, 12). The appeal to worship God as Creator has become especially timely in the years following the initial preaching of the first angel’s message because of the rapid spread of the theory of evolution. Furthermore, the call to worship the God of heaven as Creator of all things implies that due heed be given to the sign of God’s creative works—the Sabbath of the Lord (see on Ex. 20:8-11). If the Sabbath had been kept as God intended, it would have served as a great safeguard against infidelity and evolution (see Acts 14:15; PP 336). The Sabbath will be a point especially controverted in the closing crisis (see on Rev. 13:16).

 Gr. proskuneō, “to do homage,” “to worship.” The worship of God is in contrast with the worship of the beast (ch. 13:8, 12) and that of its image (v. 15). In the crisis soon to come, the inhabitants of the earth will be called upon to make their choice, as did the three Hebrew worthies in days of old, between the worship of the true God and that of false gods (Dan. 3). The message of the first angel is designed to prepare men to make the proper choice and to stand firm in the time of crisis.

Or, “has come.”

 Gr. krisis, “the act of judging,” contrasted with krima, “the sentence of judgment” (see on ch. 17:1). Seventh-day Adventist expositors understand the judgment here mentioned as that which began in 1844, represented in type by the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary (see on Dan. 8:14). That the reference here is not to the executive judgment at the coming of Christ when all receive their rewards, is seen by the fact that the messages of the three angels (Rev. 14:6-12) precede the second coming of Christ (v. 14). Furthermore, the message concerning the judgment is accompanied by an appeal and a warning that reveal that the day of salvation has not passed. Men may still turn to God and escape the wrath to come. Historically, the preaching of William Miller and his associates in the period from 1831 to 1844, concerning the close of the 2300 days in 1844, may be regarded as marking the beginning of the message of the first angel (see F. D. Nichol, The Midnight Cry, p. 284). But that message has had validity ever since and will continue to have until the curtain falls on man’s opportunity for salvation.

 Or, “time,” not a literal hour. Compare this use of “hour” in John 4:21, 23; 5:25, 28; Rev. 14:15. Conceived of in this way, it is possible to understand the phrase “hour of his judgment” as referring to the general time when the judgment will take place and not as necessarily referring to the precise moment when the judgment begins. Thus it is possible to say that the first angel’s message was proclaimed in the years preceding 1844 even though the actual work of judgment had not yet begun (see below on “judgment”).

The message to fear God is especially timely in the period represented by the preaching of this angel, for men are worshiping gods of materialism and pleasure and many others of their own and devising.

 Gr. phobeō, “to fear,” “to reverence.” Phobeō is used here not in the sense of being afraid of God, but in the sense of coming to Him with reverence and awe. It conveys the thought of absolute loyalty to God, of full surrender to His will (cf. on Deut. 4:10).

 The message of both the first angel and the third angel are given with a “loud voice” (v. 9). The loud voice indicates that the message will be proclaimed so that all may hear. It also emphasizes the importance of the message.

 Gr. doxa (see on Rom. 3:23). Here doxa doubtless signifies “honor,” “praise,” “homage.” Compare Ps. 115:1; Isa. 42:12; 2 Peter 3:18; Jude 25.