Alleluia - 47

When Jesus gathered His disciples in the upper room to observe the last Passover meal, we're told in Matthew chapter 26 in verse 30 that after they had observed the Passover, they sang a hymn and went out onto the Mount of Olives. Now we don't know what hymn they sang, but we have, I think, some pretty good ideas to narrow it down. It was Jewish custom during the Passover to sing the Hallel, which is from Psalm 113 through Psalm 118. And I think keeping with Jewish tradition, the hymn they sang probably was one of those hymns from the Psalter. Now, that is one of the few words that has passed on from the original Hebrew into our English usage today, and that is the word Hallelujah. That is the prominent, one of the prominent words that you're going to find in those collection of Psalms, ones 13 to 118, that Jesus most likely chose from as they sang a hymn and went out on the Mount of Olives. We sang that this evening in the number of the hymns. The word Hallelujah combines the word Hallel, which means to praise. Now, we're singing it in the second person plural, which is the Hallelu, that's the second person plural of Hallel, and it's combined with the shortened word for Yahweh, which is Yah. So Hallelujah, we are singing corporately together, praise ye the Lord, praise Yahweh.

That's what the focus here is in our message this evening. Now, I find it interesting, as important as that word is to the Church of Jesus Christ and how it gives us a way to express our worship to Him, that it is found so few times in the Scriptures. In fact, you'll only find that in two books of the Bible. You'll find it in the Psalms, 24 times, and you'll find it in the book of the Revelation, four times, and three of them are in our passage for this evening.

Interestingly, that word is the last word of the Psalter. Psalm 150 ends with that word. The last word in the Hebrew songbook is Hallelujah. Now, Revelation chapter 19 contains the last song that's recorded in the book of the Revelation. That song begins in verse 6, and again, it will be the final song that we hear in Revelation, and therefore the final song of the New Testament. So, just as the Hebrew Psalter closes with God's chosen people singing Hallelujah, so the New Testament closes with God's redeemed in heaven singing similarly Hallelujah.

I think there's some comparisons here that we can tease out that will be helpful and edifying to us. I think there's a connection between Jesus and his disciples at the Last Supper singing Hallelujah Psalms, because Jesus is coming to the end of his mission in his first coming. He's going to the cross, and he prayed that same evening in John chapter 17, Father, I have finished the work you gave me to do.

Well, he hadn't been to Calvary yet, but it was as certain as if it was already done. So, here Jesus is singing with his disciples in the upper room Hallelujah. Praise to God in the context of Jesus finishing the work that he came in his first coming. In chapter 19, we are moving quickly to the consummation of the age, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, his second coming, and here we find the emphasis on Hallelujah, singing praise to God, and I don't think that it's a coincidence. We see the angels and the redeemed church in heaven singing Hallelujah for the consummation, for the conclusion of the work of Jesus Christ as he judges his enemies and prepares his church for glorious habitation in heaven. Notice with me as we begin here in chapter 19, John says, after these things, after these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven. Well, obviously, after these things points us back to the previous chapter, chapter 18, and what took place in chapter 18.

Well, we saw the utter destruction and ruin and desolation of the world and its evil system for its opposition to God and his people for its oppression and its persecution of the saints of God. Let's just take a quick scan back in chapter 18 because it's been a few weeks since we were there just to see the emphasis here in chapter 18. Notice with me verse 8.

Well, let me back up. Let's begin at verse 2, chapter 18, verse 2. John heard an angel and that angel cried mightily with a loud voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen. So it is Babylon is representative of this world and all the cities that make up this world and God is going to judge this world.

And that's the reference there. And then notice verse 8, therefore, her plagues will come in one day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be utterly burned with fire for strong is the Lord God who judges her. The kings of the earth will weep and lament.

Notice verse 9. The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning. Notice verse 11, and the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her for no one buys their merchants, their merchandise anymore. Later on in the chapter, sailors and all who make their wealth by the sea will be given to weeping and mourning at the utter destruction and desolation brought about by God's wrath and judgment. That's how the world is going to respond to God's visiting this world in judgment, weeping and mourning. But in contrast to the world, notice what verse 20 says.

This is a command to the church. Rejoice over her. Over who? Over Babylon, over this world and its destruction.

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her. So they were commanded to rejoice over this destruction. And you say, are we going to be of a mind? Are we going to be in a place where that is what we're going to do? Well, we've been commanded to do it, and there's going to be some reasons here in the first few verses that we're going to look at in chapter 19 that are going to encourage us to be able to enter into that. Now, there's a difference between being here on earth and doing that and being in heaven and having the perspective that we'll have there and being in a better spiritual state in order to do that without the conflicting self-interest and those kinds of things that hinder us from entering in to rejoicing in God's judgment. But Revelation chapter 19 is the obedient response to the command of chapter 18 and verse 20. Revelation 19, these first four verses, are the obedient response to the command of 18 verse 20. Now notice with me as the chapter opens, the scene has changed from the earth and its destruction, which occupied chapter 18, to the heavens and the rejoicing and the praising of the Lord. And again, verse 1, John hears a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven. Notice, 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.

Again, Alleluia, the second person plural verb form that we are to engage in, worshiping God, praising Him. That's what's going to be going on in heaven, worship of God. Now this heavenly multitude is praising the Lord for four things.

Notice with me, they're right there in verse 1. They're praising the Lord for the salvation He provides. Number two, they're praising Him for the glory that He possesses. They're praising Him, number three, for the honor He deserves.

And they're praising Him, fourthly, for the power that He exercises. Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. Amen?

Amen. The Lord is being praised for what He has done and for who He is. There is a combination here of praise being rendered to God for what He has done and for His divine attributes. But what stands at the pinnacle of this list, what's first mentioned?

They are praising the Lord, singing Alleluia to Him because of the salvation that He has provided. Now this is not the first scene that we have seen in our study of the book of Revelation. In fact, we can go back to chapter 4, we can go back to chapter 5. John keeps getting these visions of heaven and the worship that's taking place there. But I do want to turn you to Revelation chapter 7 because of the close parallel that we see with what we find here in chapter 19. Revelation 7. Poor John must have had his head on a swivel, that poor guy.

I won't say poor guy, that blessed guy. How many times you see after these things, that's the first word in chapter 7, after these things I saw. We get to verse 9, after these things I looked and beheld. But notice again verse 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, and crying out with a loud voice saying what? Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the lamb. That's the focus of their worship and of their praise. And that's the first thing that is occupying the minds of these in heaven. The cause of their worship is the salvation that God has provided. Now, again, I don't want to take away from the import or the impact that this vision ought to make with us here in chapter 19, but I need to remind you, this is not the first time.

We've seen this before. So John is revisiting a scene in heaven and looking at it from a little bit of a different perspective. There in chapter 7, God is worshiped for seven of His divine attributes that are manifested. They said, Amen, this is verse 12, Amen, and here they are, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might. Those seven be to our God forever and ever, Amen. So there's seven aspects of their worship, and they're rejoicing here in chapter 19. There are four reasons that are fueling their worship and their singing Alleluia to the Lord. The heavenly multitude is giving is given to praising the Lord first for providing them salvation. Well, why not? Since salvation is a monogistic work, it's something that God undertakes without any contribution that man makes.

There's no room. There's no way that anybody is going to take any credit in heaven for any contribution they think they may have made. Salvation is a work of God. Salvation is all of God from beginning to end.

And therefore, God is to be praised for that. The five solos of the Reformation, I think, are the best expression of this idea that salvation is a monogistic work of God in salvation. That is, that we are saved, what? Through the scriptures alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone, for what?

The glory of God alone. At times, I'm ashamed that for a period of my early Christian life, I was of the deception that in some way I made a contribution to my salvation. I exercised my faith. That was my part. God did his part, but I had to do my part. And I did my part.

I exercised faith. Well, if that's the way it works, then there is room for man to boast. There is room for man to take credit. But when we begin to understand, no, the faith that we exercise is itself a gift from God, right?

There's no taking credit for that. For by grace are you saved through faith, and this, not of yourselves. For by grace are you saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's all of God. Faith is a gift from God. So, there's no place for anyone to say, well, I was smarter than him or I was smarter than her.

No. Salvation is all of God and how we thank God for that. You think through the different narratives of the scriptures and begin to think about that and how God illustrated that. You remember Jonah. Jonah, in his disobedience and waywardness, he told the sailors, I think this, I've got the answer to resolve this storm. Just pitch me overboard. And they refused to do that.

Didn't want to do that. Worked hard trying to make it go with the ship. They realized if they don't do this, they're all going to die. So reluctantly, they threw Jonah overboard. What did he discover? Salvation was of the Lord, right? If God didn't rescue him, there was no hope. He wasn't going to make any contribution to his rescue there, was he? What contribution did he make?

He told them, throw me overboard. His contribution is getting himself in the mess he was in, right? The contribution that you and I make in salvation is the sin that we bring that necessitates us needing rescued and saved. And it was in the belly of the fish in chapter 2 that Jonah echoes those wonderful words in verse 9, salvation is of the Lord.

Now it has a couple of meanings, I think, there. Number one, he understood if he's going to survive this, God's going to have to do the saving. God's going to have to do the rescuing. But the whole reason that he is where he is is because he wanted to retain the prerogative of determining who God could save and who God could not save.

And he had to come to the realization, no, that's off base for me. Salvation is of the Lord. If he wants to save the Ninevites, that's his business, not for me to protest. Well, they praise the Lord, number one, for salvation that God has provided. Salvation. But what else? Secondly, this heavenly multitude praised the Lord for his glory.

What is that? Well, it is the blinding splendor of his majesty that brings all creation to fall before him in humility and fear and awe and worship. As they beheld the purity of his holiness and as they considered the outshining of his excellencies, and as they contemplate the infinite worth and value of his divine nature, they cry out with one voice, Alleluia, praise Jehovah for his glory.

And I love the various hints and glimpses we get of this. When Jesus took Peter, James, and John onto the Mount of Transfiguration and Jesus was transfigured before them. Well, they couldn't have anticipated that that was what was going to happen. Jesus took them there. They weren't sure what the reason was, but when they got there, Jesus is transfigured before them. And those three men got just a glimpse. It's as if God just turned the curtain, pulled the curtain back a little bit, and they got a glimpse of glory, divine glory.

And it's a good thing that all they got was a glimpse because the little bit they did get put them on their face on the ground. Now, the reason that is so is because of our constitution. We have a sinful constitution. There is no way, given the constitution we've got, that we could go to heaven.

We could not exist there. God has got to reconstitute us. God has got to glorify us, perfect us in order for us to be fit for heavenly habitation.

That's the only way we could ever be there. That's the only way we could ever be in the presence of a thrice holy God. So they praise God not only for the salvation that he provided, but they praise God for his glory. Number three, they praise God for his honor.

Honor. It is the esteem that is due God because of his infinite superiority displayed in all of his attributes. We honor God when we reverence him. We honor God when we humble ourselves before him. We honor God when we submit to his authority. We honor God when we worship him for who he is and for what he's done. That's not hard.

That's easy to understand. We understand when people are honored, they're singled out, they're reverenced, they're esteemed. Well, God is worthy of that. And then number four, God is to be praised for his power. Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. That is, he has unrivaled, irresistible power to do what?

To subdue his foes, to accomplish his purposes, in spite of satanic opposition. Nothing is too hard for an omnipotent God. No one can thwart him. No one can stay his hand. No one can stop him from doing all that he pleases to do. Our God is in the heavens and he does whatever he pleases. No one can hinder God. No one can stop God. No one can frustrate the purposes of God. And God is worthy of praise for that. Because you and I are thwarted all the time, right?

We're frustrated because we want to do this, but we can't because of this reason and that reason. In the face of God's omnipotence, what are we? What power do you have? I'll tell you how much power you've got. You've got enough power to go about, I don't know, maybe 48 hours and then your tank goes empty and you collapse and you've got to rest and recharge. That's how much power you have.

We have no power. But, having, so, God is to be praised for his power. Notice we move away from those four things, the salvation that he provides, his glory, his honor, and his power. Verse 2 says, for true and righteous are his judgments. True and righteous are his judgments.

Here is another reason for us to praise the Lord. True and righteous are his judgments. That is when God passes judgment on someone, it's always, without exception, a true judgment. It never overstates or understates the true nature of the situation. The judgments of God are always according to truth.

And wouldn't you love it if those principles were operating in our country right now? True and righteous are his judgments. They're not only true, but they're righteous. They're righteous in this sense. God does not pass too harsh of a sentence, nor does God pass too lenient a sentence for what has been done. His punishments or his rewards are exactly proportionate to the behavior that is being judged by him. So the point is that there is perfect equity in God's judgments. And the longer you see injustice and judgments done in no truth or half truth, the greater will grow your appreciation for a God who is true and righteous in all of his judgments. That should encourage us.

That's a talking point in our culture when people are clamoring and wondering, well, what about this and what about that, and he said this and they did that, and we've got this proof and that proof and all the rest. Say, well, listen, as long as we're on this earth, there's going to be injustice. There's not going to be equity. But listen, there is a day coming when the God of all the earth is going to do right. And there will be true and righteous judgments. No one will get too heavy a hand.

No one will get a deal. It'll be true and it will be righteous. That should cause us to praise the Lord. Now, John moves away from the general principle there that God's judgments are true and righteous, and then he moves into specificity.

What do I mean by that? Well, in the latter part of verse 2, the saints in heaven now speak to the specific judgment that God has exercised on the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication and who martyred the believers for their faithfulness to Christ. Notice that, for true and righteous are his judgments because he has judged the great harlot, that's Babylon, that's the world, that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her. There will be vindication.

God will exact vindication when he judges in that day. All the judgments that are described in chapter 18 of the total destruction of this world, all of that judgment is true and righteous. And notice as this multitude in heaven observes God's true and righteous judgments, how they respond to that. It says in verse 3, again they said, Alleluia, praise the Lord, praise Jehovah, her smoke, the world's smoke, Babylon's smoke, rises up forever and ever. Now, verse 4 says, And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne, saying Amen, Alleluia. The twenty-four elders, they are those who represent the saints of the old covenant and the new covenant.

The twenty-four elders, they make up the redeemed of the ages. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures, those majestic created angels, the seraphim who God created for no other purpose but to worship Him. So the church of all the ages, these angelic hosts, the seraphim, they fall down and they worship God who sat on the throne saying Amen, Alleluia.

Now again, the throne is very conspicuous in this picture that John is describing for us. Not just a throne, but one who's sitting on the throne, one who worship and praise is ascribed to for the various reasons that are given. The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sat on the throne saying Amen, Alleluia. They're engaged in one activity, this redeemed of all the ages, these angelic beings, and what is it? They're worshipping God.

They're worshipping God on His throne, and they are saying Amen, Alleluia. Now we're familiar with the word Amen. It's a word of affirmation. It's a word of approval. It's a word of agreement. Often at the end of a believer's prayer, it's customary for us to give our Amen.

What are we doing? We're saying, in effect, I affirm that prayer. I approve of that prayer. I am in agreement with that prayer. And both saints and angels affirm, approve, agree with God's judgment on this world.

That's what they're saying. When they see what God has done, they say Amen. There will be no queried look. There will be no wondering, questioning.

Should God have done this or that? No, there will be one hundred percent unanimity. We will say Amen.

We will agree that God's judgments are true and righteous. This is instructive because it tells us what we will be doing in heaven. We will be occupying our time.

It tells us what we will be looking forward to. But we are not there. We are not with this heavenly multitude. We're still here on this earth with work to do, with instructions to heed.

You say, well, what specific instructions are there for us in this context? Well, there they are in verse five. Notice there's a change. John says, Then a voice, a voice came from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants and those who fear him, both small and great. A voice came from the throne. Well, is this God the Father speaking? Is this God the Son speaking?

Well, probably not. Because if it was, they would say something different than praise our God. They would say, praise us.

No, praise our God. So most likely, this voice is from one who is in close proximity to the throne, perhaps an elder, perhaps an angel. But I don't believe, and neither do the commentators believe, that this is God speaking.

But again, someone who is in close proximity to the throne. And is a message for those who are still on the earth. Those still dealing with threats, persecutions, injustices and all the challenges and difficulties encountered by those who are seeking to live lives pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. A voice came from the throne saying, Praise our God, all you his servants and those who fear him, both small and great. In other words, down there while you're on earth, we're up here in heaven. You need to get into the habit of doing this, praising the Lord, worshipping the Lord. Make praising the Lord your joy and delight down there. Why? So that you can join us up here someday at God's appointed time.

Instructions for us. I love William Cowper and the man that he was and the gifts that he has left the church, his hymnody. And one of the hymns that we enjoy singing here, there is a fountain filled with blood.

And the final stanza says this, When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave, then, then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save. We have limitations in our ability to worship God. It's our sin.

It's the distractions. It's the way we're constituted in this world, despite the fact that there is a heart of gratitude that wells up in us when we think that our salvation is all of God. We're debtors to mercy alone. If we're saved, it's not because of anything we've done.

It's all because of what he's done. And that does cause our heart to well up in worship and praise to God. But again, we're still dealing with the remnants of our sinful nature. We're dragging around this dead corpse, if I can put it that way.

So I love the way Cowper puts this. When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave, then, in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save. And we'll be singing for the same reason that this multitude in heaven is seen by John singing, salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. Thank you for praying for me as I have prepared messages through this series. Tonight is the 47th message in this series. And even though we are in chapter 19, that doesn't mean that we're getting close to the end.

The best I can calculate, it looks to me that there's probably another 15 to 18 messages to get through chapter 22. So it's been a journey. I'm thankful for your interest and your encouragement and what you're learning as I'm learning and how we are being helped to understand this critically important part of God's Word. There's blessing promised to us for reading it, for understanding it. And I trust that God will bless us together as we make this journey. Someone asked me when we started this study, and I went back this afternoon and discovered that in February of 2021.

So it's been two years and four months. Now there's been a lot of other preaching about other matters that have interrupted the study. In some respects I get a sense that maybe we've lost a bit of continuity because there will be times where we'll be two or three weeks, we won't be in Revelation, we'll be doing other things, preaching other things that are appropriate for the occasion. But Lord willing, I'd like to see us complete this study this calendar year if God would be pleased. So thank you again for praying, and I ask you to continue to pray because there's some challenging material ahead of us. Let's bow and pray. Father, we bow to thank you tonight for your Word, for what you revealed to John that has been preserved for us, and what has been recorded for us, that we might be able to study and learn and to understand what awaits us in glory, what prospect. What a thrill to be able to see beyond this life and to know what you have prepared for us to be engaged in.

Lord, you are a glorious being. We bow and worship you to the degree that we're able to in this life. And Lord, we long for the day when we are freed from every hindrance that would keep us from worshipping and offering you the worship that you deserve, to join the saints above, to enter into that great multitude, to be with a people from every tongue and tribe and people and nation, to see the fruit of our missionary investment in this world. And not just ours, but the missionary enterprise around the world that is being undertaken by your church wherever it's being faithful to you. Lord, again, thank you, thank you, thank you for what you've done for us in Christ, how we bless you and worship you for the salvation you've provided, for your glory, for your honor, for your power, for the fact that your judgments are true and righteous in all of your ways. And we bow before you in humility and surrender ourselves afresh to you and ask that you will lead us, guide us, direct us and bless us and use us for your glory, however long you leave us on this earth, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.