Worship God! (Rev. 19)
Worship God (Rev. 19)
Call to Hear
In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s Letter From A Birmingham Jail, he made this damning observation about the judicial system in America and the plight of Black folks, particularly in the south during his day.
“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Frankly, I have yet to engage in a direct action campaign that was “well timed” in the view of those who have not suffered unduly from the disease of segregation.
For years now I have heard the word “Wait!” It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This “Wait” has almost always meant “Never.” We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.”1
That last line has been repeated often by those who feel they have been victimized by the justice system. Those overlooked in their moment of greatest need. “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
That line reminded me of Rev. 6:10-11 where John shares the familiar and heartfelt words of those saints who were martyred for their faith.
Revelation 6:10–11 (NKJV)
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
11 Then a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed.
“Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”
This may certainly be true, at times, as it relates to our lives here on earth, but nothing could be farther from the truth in God’s kingdom. No one gets away with sin. No one gets away with injustice. No matter how long it may seem to take, sooner or later, God does comes to collect.
Today, we are in the 19th chapter of the book of Revelation. This chapter is a continuation of chapter 18 where it is affirmed that God has remembered the sins of Babylon (Rev. 18:5). He has avenged His people on her for the blood that she has shed (Rev. 18:20) and God’s people we will worship Him as He does.
Worship in Judgment (Rev. 19:1-5, 17-21)
For the first and only time in the entire NT, we find the word “hallelujah” mentioned four times. It means, “praise the Lord.” It is the highest form of praise that we can offer Him. This isn’t a word that you want to throw around flippantly. There needs to be purpose when you use that word and the purpose is to brag and boast about our God.
Revelation 19:1–5 (NKJV)
1 After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
2 For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her.”
3 Again they said, “Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!”
4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying, “Amen! Alleluia!”
5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying, “Praise our God, all you His servants and those who fear Him, both small and great!”
Hallelujah 1 & 2
The word hallelujah is shouted three times in chapter 19 as a response to the judgment of God on Babylon, the beast, the false prophet and those who dwell on the earth. You can read about it in Rev. 19:17-21 where God feeds the birds of the air with the flesh of His enemies.
First, the loud voice that John hears, worships God for His salvation, glory, honor and power. All of these have previously been mentioned as reasons to worship God (Rev. 4:11; 5:12-13; 7:11-12). Second, not only is He worshiped for those reasons, He is also worshiped because His judgments are true and righteous. There is no deceit or ulterior motives in the judgment of God. As Daniel Akin puts it, “God is not vindictive or capricious in His judgment of Babylon. He is totally true and just.”2 Because that is the case we can trust that His judgment on the great harlot, that His judgment on those who dwell on the earth, that when He judges us in our sin, it is good and acceptable.
Third, He is worshiped because He has avenged the blood of His servants upon Babylon as they watch her smoke rise forever and ever (Rev. 14:11; 18:9, 18; Isa. 34:10). This is the main reason God’s apostles and prophets are told to rejoice in Rev. 18:20.
Revelation 18:20 (NKJV)
20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her!”
This is the long awaited answer to the cry of those martyrs in Rev. 6:10. God has not forgotten His people, He has not overlooked the sins of the wicked.
However, J Scott Duvall cautions us not to get on our high horses about this passage. He says,
We should not confuse rejoicing over God’s judgment of evil powers with the suffering of sinners. The celebration comes because God’s justice has finally been administered, not because we seek revenge or delight in seeing deceived people suffer” (Revelation, p260).3
Now, that just messed up some of y'all, because you’ve been hoping and praying, waiting for those folks who did you wrong to get what was coming to them.
In Proverbs 24:17-18 we are told,
17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, And do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles;
18 Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, And He turn away His wrath from him.
So what should we do? Well, just a few verses earlier in Proverbs 24:11 we are told to,
11 Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
The apostle James says,
“...that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins” (James 5:20).
Jesus said
“...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance at all” (Lk 15:7).
So then, how can we deliver those who are drawn toward death? How can we hold back those stumbling to the slaughter? A few things come to mind. We can do it through what is called discipleship. Walking with a brother or sister in Christ to help one another grow stronger in faith. We can do it through genuine love and compassion for each other. We can do it by helping to carry the burdens of someone else. We can do it by sharing the hope that we have in Christ. By making our boast in God alone. By preaching Christ and Him crucified!! We can do that by worshiping God with reckless abandon.
Hallelujah 3
The third hallelujah is shouted by the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures. The first time that we were introduced to the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures was in Revelation 4 as they stepped onto the apocalyptic scene praising God. It’s quite interesting and appropriate that the last time that we hear from them in God’s record is here where they exit the pages of the book with shouts of praise to the God of our salvation!
Worship at the Wedding (Rev. 19:6-10)
The fourth hallelujah shifts our attention from the judgment of God to the jubilation of the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Revelation 19:6–10 (NKJV)
6 And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “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.”
8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.”
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”
If John is told not to worship the heavenly messenger, that certainly means that he should worship none but God as he is rightly instructed. To do anything else is sinful! The same is true for us. If it is not right for us to worship one who comes from the throneroom of heaven, then it is not right for us to worship anyone/thing but the Lord.
So why do you give your worship to money and success? Why do you give your worship to sex and sexuality? Why do you give your worship to influence and status? Why do you give your worship to politics and political figures? To celebrities? To lovers? To family? To things that will not survive the return of our Lord? Don't do that!! Worship God alone!!
When Alicia and I got married almost 17 years ago, we had a few small differences of opinion about the details of the wedding. Stereotypically, she, being the bride, cared more about some things than I did and as you might expect, she got her way. Not much has changed in almost 17 years. However, despite all of those minor differences of opinion, we were unified in this one thing, that our wedding day would be a time of worship for all that God had done for us. It would be an opportunity for us to share the Gospel and tell the truth about the God we serve.
Hallelujah 4
In this section of scripture (Rev. 19:6-10) we find the fourth and final hallelujah. God is worshiped because of His omnipotence. That means that He has all power and strength. This is a way of addressing His sovereignty. Also, He is worshiped because He is about to tie the knot with His Church.
Two times in this chapter we read about a supper. The images are contrasting to say the least. First we have the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-10). This is what all of us who belong to Christ are looking forward to. The second is the supper of the great God (Rev. 19:17-21). This is what all of those who do not belong to Christ can expect. How you respond to Jesus in this life will determine which supper you are invited to.
As John puts it in his gospel account
John 5:29 NKJV
29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.
The Supper of the Great God
The second supper focuses exclusively on the wrath and justice of God. An angel of the Lord stands in the heat of the sun ringing the dinner bell, calling the birds of the air to come and eat a buffet of bodies. The slaughter happens in descending order beginning with the most esteemed, kings, all the way down to the least esteemed, slaves.
This image of the supper of the great God is nothing new. What we are reading in this Revelation is what God calls His “sacrificial meal” in Ezekiel’s prophecy .
Ezekiel 39:17–20 (NKJV)
17 “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: “Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood.
18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan.
19 You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you.
20 You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.
John Piper writes,
“When the world is ready for judgment as road kill is for the vultures, then he will come in great wrath.… This will not be private, secret, or pleasant for unbelievers. He will come on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt 24:30). And the judgment will be like vultures sweeping in on the corpse of human rebellion.”4
But thank God for His mercy and grace, because there’s another supper happening as well. Again, how you respond to Jesus in this life will determine which supper you are invited to.
Marriage Supper of the Lamb
The first supper, being the cause for the fourth hallelujah chorus, focuses exclusively on the blessedness of our union with Christ. J. Scott Duvall calls this marriage supper of the Lamb, “a centerpiece of the universal reign of God.”5
Before we move on, we need to understand what this imagery would’ve meant to those seven churches in Asia Minor who received letters from Jesus.
Ancient Jewish tradition had several stages to marriage.
Betrothal: this is what we might call, the “engagement” but it certainly was more binding than it is today. You couldn’t just call off and engagement. If two people were engaged to be married, it was legally binding, even though they did not live together or they hadn’t exchanged vows, and yet you would need a certificate of divorce to undo the engagement.
Presentation: Before the festivities of the actual wedding ceremony, the groom would leave his home and travel to the bride’s home, where she would be waiting with her...bridesmaids. The groom would then claim her as his own beloved bride.
The Ceremony: The presentation of the bride begins the lengthy time of celebration known as the “wedding supper.” This would last for several days. The new bride and groom would depart the ceremony as full-fledged husband and wife.6
We can see all throughout the Bible how God compares His relationship with His people to a marriage (Isa. 54:6; Ezek. 16:8ff.; Hos. 2:14ff.; Matt. 22:2ff.; Mark 2:19; John 3:29; Eph. 5:22-33).
Verse 7 tells us that in preparation for the wedding the Wife has made herself ready. How exactly has she done this? And just so that we’re clear, this is talking the Church, it’s talking about you and me. How do we make ourselves ready for our wedding to the Lamb of God?
Daniel Akin lists 4 helpful ways that we/the Church/the Bride of the Lamb prepares herself for the big day.
Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Glorify God for His Bride (Revelation 19:6–8))
The bride prepares herself by remaining faithful to Christ in a fallen and evil world.
The bride prepares herself by enduring hardship in the midst of suffering.
The bride prepares herself by trusting God in the face of martyrdom.
The bride prepares herself by obeying God to take the gospel to all tribes, languages, peoples, and nations.7
All of this can be summed up in this way, the Wife of Christ prepares herself by “putting on Jesus Christ” (Rom. 13:14) and what Paul also calls “putting on the new man” (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). But this is not something that we can do on our own. We need the Lord’s help. The Lamb’s Wife prepares herself by putting on what her Husband provides. Notice in verse 8 that she “...was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:8).
In his commentary on Revelation, George Ladd helps us to better understand what is meant here.
Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Glorify God for His Bride (Revelation 19:6–8))
While the bride must make herself ready for the marriage, her glorious raiment is not something she can acquire for herself; it must be granted her, i.e., given to her as a divine gift.… The fine linen, bright and pure, stands in sharp contrast to the brilliant robes of the harlot. The wedding garment is a simple white garment which has been washed and “made … white in blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7:14). (Commentary, 249)8
This is our salvation! Jesus has paid it all!
Ephesians 5:25–27 (NKJV)
25 ...Christ...loved the church and gave Himself for her,
26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
This is why He is called, Faithful & True.
Exalting Jesus in Revelation (His Appearance Will Be Glorious (19:11–13))
He’s FAITHFUL because He’s dependable, reliable, and trustworthy.
He’s Someone we can count on!
He’s TRUE because He’s authentic, genuine, the real thing.9
There’s not another one like Him! He’s in a class all by Himself.
He’s the Word of God. The Almighty God. He is King of Kings and Lords of Lords!
I seriously doubt that any of the people you hold in high esteem in this life would give up their positions of power, prestige, and profit for you, but Jesus did!
None of them would impoverish themselves for your prosperity, but Jesus did!
None of them would love you while you hated and mistreated them, but Jesus did!
None of them would forgive you for spitting on them, for beating them within an inch of their lives, for smashing a crown of thorns on their head, but Jesus did!
And after all of that, none of them would die in your place, but Jesus did!
He deserves our worship!!
The Word of God instructs us to
Worship Him in the beauty of holiness! (Ps. 96:9)
Worship Him in spirit and truth! (Jn. 4:24)
Worship Him early in the morning! (Psalm 59:16)
Worship Him late into the evening! (Psalm 113:3)
Worship Him when everything is going right in your life! (Hebrews 13:15; 1 Thess. 5:18)
Worship Him when it seems like your life is falling apart! (Psalm 34:1)
This entire 19th chapter rises and falls with the worship of our God and King and the centerline of chapter 19 is found in v11.
“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and the one seated on it was called “Faithful” and “True,” and with justice he judges and makes war” (Rev. 19:11).
This verse holds together the entire purpose and intention of this chapter which is to bring us to the place where we joyfully and enthusiastically worship God for rightly judging the wicked of this world and for all that He has done in saving those who have been faithful to the Lamb.
Call to Respond
In his sermon, Worship God, John Piper says this about the joyful power of corporate worship.
Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Praise God for His Salvation (Revelation 19:1–5))
Corporate worship … is the declaration in the midst of Babylon that we will not be drawn into her harlotries, because we have found in God the satisfaction of our souls. In his presence is fullness of joy and at his right hand are pleasures forevermore. Corporate worship is the public savoring of the worth of God and the beauty of God and power of God and the wisdom of God. And therefore worship is an open declaration to all the powers of heaven and to all of Babylon that we will not prostitute our minds or our hearts or our bodies to the allurements of the world. Though we may live in Babylon, we will not be captive to Babylonian ways. And we will celebrate with all our might the awesome truth that we are free from that which will be destroyed. (“Worship God!”)10
Please Stand
I’ve asked the worship team to lead us in exalting the Name of Jesus as we close. As we stand and sing, I want to encourage you to lift up your highest praise to the Faithful and True God, the Victorious, Word of God who reigns over all.
As we worship, I want to invite you to the winning side! If you are not a Christian, today is your day. This is your opportunity to claim a seat at the table of the Lamb’s marriage supper by placing control of your total life into the hands of Jesus Christ.
Tre Clark
Exported from Logos Bible Study
6:49 PM November 16, 2024.
Works Cited
Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 284.
J Scott Duvall, Revelation, p260
(Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation, ed. Daniel L. Akin, David Platt, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2016), 297).
J. Scott Duvall, Revelation, p26
Swindoll, Revelation, p264
Daniel Akins, Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Glorify God for His Bride (Revelation 19:6–8))
George Ladd, Commentary, p249. Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Glorify God for His Bride (Revelation 19:6–8))
Daniel Akin, Exalting Jesus in Revelation (His Appearance Will Be Glorious (19:11–13))
John Piper, Worship God!; Exalting Jesus in Revelation (Praise God for His Salvation (Revelation 19:1–5))
