Morning Sermon

April 6, 2008

Hallelujah

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Hallelujah! You might be saying that this morning, having finally made it to this point of the book of Revelation. We're finally done with the descriptions of the judgment and vengeance of God. We're finally done with that long section beginning in chapter 4-the three cycles of judgment, the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls. Hallelujah.

You might even know the literal translation of that Hebrew word, a word which our English Bibles typically keep in its Hebrew form. It is one of several Hebrew words that you all know. The literal translation is simply, but emphatically, Praise the Lord. Hallelu means to praise. Jah is shortened name for God of Yahweh. Hallelu Jah! Sometimes you see the word without the "h" at the beginning, and that is because the "h" sound is actually a breath mark in the Hebrew. So there is no letter "h" but there is a heavy breath mark that you pronounce with the sound of an "h." You might be surprised that this is the first time the word is used in the New Testament.

Hallelujah! But be sure to ask the question, "For what?" What is it that we sing praise to God for? That's where we tie this to what we have been studying all along because, you see, we are called to Praise the Lord for the declaration of his judgment! Chapter 19 is but the response to the invitation given in,

Rev. 18:20 "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!"

Actually, the "hallelujah" comes from, Ps. 104:31 "May the glory of the LORD endure forever; May the LORD rejoice in His works. 32 He looks on the earth, and it trembles; He touches the hills, and they smoke. 33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. 34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD. 35 May sinners be consumed from the earth, And the wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, O my soul! Praise the LORD!"

So it is that the judgment of God upon his enemies becomes the foundation for the praise of God offered by his people. That's were we are this morning. Remember again the judgment we have past in our study,

Rev. 18:21 "Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "Thus with violence the great city Babylon shall be thrown down, and shall not be found anymore. 22 "The sound of harpists, musicians, flutists, and trumpeters shall not be heard in you anymore. No craftsman of any craft shall be found in you anymore, and the sound of a millstone shall not be heard in you anymore. 23 "The light of a lamp shall not shine in you anymore, and the voice of bridegroom and bride shall not be heard in you anymore. For your merchants were the great men of the earth, for by your sorcery all the nations were deceived. 24 "And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who were slain on the earth."

Only then do we read this, v.1

A great multitude in heaven, singing God's praise. We hear the singing offered by the heavenly church, and in our study today we'll see the response called for within the earthly church. It's a dialogue back and forth, the songs of heaven and the songs of God's people on earth. The word for that is called antiphonal, similar to the older custom in worship of responsive reading. This was a responsive song, back and forth between heaven and earth.

The heavenly song begins with a declaration of,

I. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE ACT OF JUDGMENT. God is righteous. God's judgments are righteous. Judgment itself is righteous. So next time you hear some declare, "I can't believe in a God who would judge someone to hell," at least you know where to point them in the Bible in order to correct them.

This judgment was just. And that is so because,

A. The foundation of judgment is the glory of God. That's were you start when discussing the judgment of God-his glory.

v.1 "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!"

We've seen that refrain, of course, in this book.

Rev. 7:9 "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" 11 All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying: "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Specifically, this praise is given to the Lamb, to Jesus. Rev. 5:12 "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!" 13 And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: "Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!" 14 Then the four living creatures said, "Amen!" And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped Him who lives forever and ever."

With that focus upon the glory of God, then comes the ground upon which God's judgment is righteous, or just. It is fair. Why? Because of the wickedness of men! They deserve his judgment.

B. The ground of judgment is the sinfulness of men. So when God condemns a man, it is for his sin! It is not arbitrary, nor unfounded. It is not a judgment that was produced simply in the mind of God without reference to sin. So God's judgment is conditional, not unconditional.

Our Confession of Faith puts it this way, with regard to that justice, that God "ordains them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praised of His glorious justice."

"For their sin." As the payment and penalty of their sin. That's the foundation of this righteous judgment. v.2

Notice there the reference to vengeance. Oh, how we think that to be an unrighteous concept. And for us, it is. Vengeance for us often refers to mean-spirited retaliation. You hurt me, I am going to hurt you. It is at the heart of the sinfulness of man. And we are forbidden from the pursuit of such revenge.

Mat. 5:38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' 39 "But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 "If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 "And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 "Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 "that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 "And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect."

But wait a minute. Your father in heaven exacts vengeance, according to Revelation 19. So which is it?

Well clearly, biblically, God does demand vengeance. He says so himself.

Rom. 12:19 "Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord."

The point is that vengeance is well defined as the right and proper administration of justice, in which the punishment fits the crime. Vengeance, by one in lawful authority, means that laws are enforced and law-breakers are appropriately punished. The key to understanding Jesus' teaching in the sermon on the mount is that on a personal level, in our personal relationships, we are not to assume the position or the prerogative of judge. We are not the judge, and thus the pursuit of vengeance on our part is nothing but sinful vindictiveness. But for God, the judge, it is righteous. Just as it is righteous for the civil government to punish evil-doers, as the minister of God's wrath, while it is unrighteous for any of us to take the law into our own hands.

And actually this principle of vengeance is deeply embedded in the covenant relationship which God has established with his people. The curses of the covenant were, in fact, a threatened promise of vengeance upon the covenant breaker.

Just look at, Deut. 32:34 "Is this not laid up in store with Me, Sealed up among My treasures? 35 Vengeance is Mine, and recompense; Their foot shall slip in due time; For the day of their calamity is at hand, And the things to come hasten upon them.' 36 "For the LORD will judge His people And have compassion on His servants, When He sees that their power is gone, And there is no one remaining, bond or free. 37 He will say: 'Where are their gods, The rock in which they sought refuge? 38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices, And drank the wine of their drink offering? Let them rise and help you, And be your refuge. 39 'Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand. 40 For I raise My hand to heaven, And say, "As I live forever, 41 If I whet My glittering sword, And My hand takes hold on judgment, I will render vengeance to My enemies, And repay those who hate Me. 42 I will make My arrows drunk with blood, And My sword shall devour flesh, With the blood of the slain and the captives, From the heads of the leaders of the enemy."' 43 "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people; For He will avenge the blood of His servants, And render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement for His land and His people."

So we have,

C. Judgment and the principle of covenantal vengeance. Covenantal curses. v.2

That's the first "hallelujah." Actually, there are four of them in this chapter. The first hallelujah is a declaration of God's own righteousness. The second is a declaration of,

II. THE FINALITY OF GOD'S JUDGMENT. The image is very clear. Smoke. v.3

So what is,

A. The symbol of smoke. It is the symbol of destruction, by fire. The smoke comes from the smoldering ashes of a burned out building. Or city. Remember the destruction God inflicted upon Sodom.

Gen. 19:27 "And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD. 28 Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain; and he saw, and behold, the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace."

But even more than that, if you can imagine. Not merely the destruction of fire, but the permanent destruction by fire. In the Bible, the smoke of a devastating fire leaves no room for the insurance company to in with a settlement so that you can rebuild. Instead, smoke is the symbol that you can't rebuilt. It is,

B. The symbol of permanence. That is seen most clearly in the language of God's judgment pronounced upon Edom in,

Is. 34:8 "For it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 Its streams shall be turned into pitch, And its dust into brimstone; Its land shall become burning pitch. 10 It shall not be quenched night or day; Its smoke shall ascend forever. From generation to generation it shall lie waste; No one shall pass through it forever and ever."

That was the language we saw as well in,

Rev. 14:11 "And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name."

But don't miss the point here. We're singing hallelujah to this pronouncement. "Praise the Lord," for his judgment has come. His righteous judgment upon the wicked gives us cause to declare his praise. "Halleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!"

And that song brings us to the experience of worship, the worship that takes place in heaven. We are again introduced to the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. v.4

We saw those 24 elders in back in chapter 11, as the seventh trumpet declared the kingdom of Jesus for all to hear,

Rev. 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" 16 And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, Because You have taken Your great power and reigned. 18 The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great, And should destroy those who destroy the earth."

But it is was the worship of these 24 elders, representing the people of God from the Old Covenant and New Covenant together, that began this long section of God's judgment. Back in,

Rev. 4:9 "Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

Then also, Rev. 5:8 "Now when He had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying: "You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, 10 And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth."

So what do we learn from that? Simply that,

III. WORSHIP IS ALWAYS GOD-CENTERED. Not centered upon the comfortability or desires of man. Not centered upon man's felt-needs or selfish desires. The worship of God that takes place in heaven in a song of delight in the goodness and glory of God. Just look at,

A. The song of the heavenly chorus. v.4

Nothing casual or comfortable about that! They fell down and worshipped! The basic definition of worship is in the verb "to fall down." To prostrate yourself, flat on your face, before the Lord. That's what they did as they sang to him, full of reverence and honor. They sang, "Amen, Hallelujah." Amen, a word meaning surely and truly. The emphasis is upon the praise given to Yahweh. And as they sang, there was.

B. A response from the throne. v.5

This is a form of liturgy, with one side singing and then the other. Again, the word for that is antiphonal. Alternating. Their worship clearly was orderly and coherent. And likely this response comes from none other than Jesus himself, the voice from the throne.

And he addresses the whole church, those gathered to worship, calling them to the worship of God with his own words, "Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!"

And then we have the response of the church, the response of God's people. It is,

IV. THE RESPONSE OF THE HEAVENLY CHOIR TO THE CALL TO WORSHIP. v.6

There is the fourth alleluia in this passage. The song of the church, the choir of all of God's people joined together.

What should you make of this song as "the sound of many waters?" Or, "the sound of mighty thunderings?" Well, if you remember back to the Old Testament, to Mt. Sinai, the sound of the presence of God was very similar. The cloud of glory covered the mountain, the cloud which was "the glory of the Lord." And this was the sound that came from that cloud of glory,

Ex. 19:16 "Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled."

And so now the people of God themselves, the church raised up into heaven, is brought into that very glory cloud. It is now the church which sings with thunderings and lightenings. It is now the church which joins in the heavenly liturgy and sings her praise to the great glory and majesty of God. Thus we see,

A. The church in the presence of God's glory. And it is a song of judgment, as we have seen. In that judgment, we sing of the great and glorious nature of God, specifically his sovereignty and power. That's the final alleluia,

B. The church acknowledging the sovereignty of God. v.6 "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!"

These are the words which George Frederick Handel put to music in the Hallelujah Chorus of his great oratorio, The Messiah. Listen to those words as he wrote them to music, beginning with this vital Hebrew word repeated five times, "Hallelujah!" Then the words continue, "For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth." He continues after several more "hallelujahs." "The kingdom of this world Is become the kingdom of our Lord, And of His Christ, and of His Christ; And He shall reign for ever and ever,...King of kings, and Lord of lords,...And He shall reign forever and ever, King of kings! and Lord of lords! Hallelujah!"

People of God, as we have it here in Revelation 19, that song in the heavenly realms demonstrates the very essence of what worship is and what it ought to be. It is a song of delight in the sovereign power of God in his reign and rule as king over all, a kingdom in which he brings judgment upon his enemies.

And, as we will continue next week, a kingdom in which the king identifies himself as a bridegroom and his worshipers are identified as the beloved bride. Thus this song of worship in the celebration of God's judgment is a song which brings us into the context of a wedding feast. v.7

We will turn next week to that idea of worship as the celebration of a great wedding, but this week we have occasion to enjoy that wedding banquet ourselves, in the form of this table that is set before us this morning. Here is the banquet table of the Lord. Here is represented to us the "marriage supper of the lamb." And you, beloved, you who love Jesus, you are not only the invited guests, but you together are actually the bride herself.

So this fourth "alleluia" is our song, our voice in the worship of our God.

v.6 "Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready."

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