The Song of the Lamb

Good morning, it's wonderful to worship with you.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean, and I'm one of the pastors of Trinity

King's Church, and it's my joy and privilege to preach God's word to you this morning.

We are in the book of Revelation, we've been here for some months.

Return to chapter 15 with me.

If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand, we'd love to bring a copy for you to

have as a gift from us to you.

Revelation is the last book in the Bible, it should be easier to find.

Revelation chapter 15, we'll go through the whole chapter, but it's a short chapter, verses

Revelation 15 · chapter mention

1 to 8.

Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's word.

Heavenly Father, we come once again to a sobering passage, but won't you please impress upon

our hearts?

How high is your glory?

And how deep and dark is our sinfulness?

So that we might understand how your holiness and your righteousness expresses itself in wrath

and judgment.

And as we are confronted with that terrible, the terrifying reality, won't you drive all

of us who are in unrepentant sin to repentance?

So that we might be recipients not of wrath, but of mercy.

Exalt the grace and mercy that you've revealed to us in Jesus Christ in our minds and our hearts

this morning.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

We stand to honor the reading of God's words.

Please stand if you are able.

Revelation chapter 15, verse 1 to 8.

Revelation 15 · chapter mention

God's holy word for us.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing.

Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last.

For with them the wrath of God is finished.

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire.

And also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name standing

beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands.

And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God, the Almighty.

Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.

Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship you.

For your righteous acts have been revealed.

After this, I looked, and the sanctuary of the tent of witness in heaven was opened.

And out of the sanctuary came the seven angels with the seven plagues,

clothed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes around their chests.

And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God,

who lives forever and ever.

And the sanctuary was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power.

And no one could enter the sanctuary until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.

This is God's holy and authoritative word.

May be seated.

May be seated.

If we believe that God is the God of love,

we must also necessarily believe that God is the God of wrath.

God's love for His people blazes out in fiery wrath toward those who oppress His people.

In order to save Israel from their slavery in Egypt, God must smite the Egyptians with the plagues.

And if God did not have wrath toward sin and sinners, He would not be worthy of our worship.

Because the wrath of God reveals the righteousness or the justice of God.

Romans 2.5 says,

The unrepentance, the unrepentance, the impenitence, the recurring sin, the lingering sin in our midst, in our hearts,

it gets stored up as wrath until the day of God's judgment, His righteous judgment.

And so we see here that the wrath of God is proportionate to the sinfulness of humanity.

And righteous anger is the appropriate response to evil.

Imagine if you have a child in school and your child is being bullied in the classroom viciously,

and the teacher sees it and does nothing about it.

That's not kindness.

That's callous indifference.

That's or cowardice.

If a wrongdoer is let off free by a judge who should be sentencing evildoers,

that is not mercy.

That's injustice.

Imagine if a drunk driver wrecked your car and killed your loved one,

and then the judge said,

It was just an accident.

They're good people.

Just forget about it.

Because that's not mercy.

That's injustice.

We tend, I think, as people, to misunderstand the wrath of God

because we fundamentally misunderstand what humans are like on the one hand

and what God is like on the other hand.

We misunderstand humans in that we think that we humans are intrinsically good.

And relatedly, we think that because we are intrinsically good,

that most people are basically good people.

If they do bad things, it's because of their unhealthy environment

or because of the oppressive systems or because of miseducation.

When you think of people that way as basically good people or intrinsically good,

then God's wrath against them is going to seem unwarranted and disproportionate.

But that's not what the Bible teaches.

Human beings are not intrinsically good.

We are intrinsically evil.

Ephesians 2.1 teaches that we are by default dead in trespasses and sins.

Romans 3.10-11 says that none is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks God.

Now, this is the natural state of humanity.

We don't start as good.

Contrary to popular belief, our babies are not angels.

We don't start as good.

We don't even start as neutral.

We start as evil.

We start as sinners.

2 Timothy 3.13 says,

Evil people and imposters will go on from bad to worse.

This is a natural progression of sinful humanity.

And until that progression is arrested by divine intervention.

We are not basically good people.

We are basically evil people who rightly deserve the wrath of God.

So that's one thing we misunderstand humans.

Another thing we misunderstand is God.

What God is like.

We wrongly assume that God is like us.

Sinful human beings.

And we imagine that God's wrath is the same as man's wrath.

But God's wrath is not irritable or capricious.

God doesn't fly off the handle like man does.

His wrath is not selfish or disproportionate.

It is measured and principled and just.

In fact, the wrath of God, as we see in this passage, reveals the glory of God.

So that the redeemed people of God sing the song of the Lamb.

That's the main point of this passage.

The wrath of God reveals the glory of God.

So that the redeemed people of God sing the song of the Lamb.

This passage is written in the language and imagery of the Exodus.

To convey that this is the ultimate end time deliverance and exodus of God's people from their enemies.

And we can see parallels with the Exodus in the mention of the plagues in verse 1.

The sea in verse 2.

The song of Moses in verses 3 to 4.

And the tent of witness or the tabernacle of witness in verses 5 to 8.

And we'll talk about each of those features in turn.

He says in verse 1.

Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing.

Seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last.

For with them the wrath of God is finished.

The word another sign alludes to the preceding signs that we have seen in the book of Revelation.

And so far we've seen two things that were named as signs.

And so this is the third sign.

The first sign was in Revelation 12, 1 to 2.

And a great sign appeared in heaven.

A woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet.

And on her head a crown of 12 stars.

She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth.

This recalls Genesis 37, 9 to 10 where Joseph has this dream.

And his sun, moon, and the 11 stars are bowing down to him.

Joseph is presumably the 12th star.

His father is the sun.

His mother is the moon.

And the 12 sons of Jacob or 12 sons of Israel, the 12 tribes of Israel.

So this woman is a picture of the covenant people of God.

And that's why she's pregnant.

It's because out of the covenant people of God that the Messiah is born.

Jesus the Christ, the king, who was the savior of the world.

So she's pregnant.

So at first she is the old covenant people of God.

A symbol of the old covenant people, the Israel.

But as she gives birth to the Messiah, it says in verse 5 of chapter 12,

a male child wants to rule all the nations with the rod of iron.

She then also becomes the new covenant people of God.

And her and her offspring together represent the entire people of God.

That's why in 2 John 1, the church is figuratively referred to as the elect lady and her children.

So this is the church.

That's the first sign.

The second sign was also in Revelation chapter 12, verse 3.

Revelation 12:3

And another sign appeared in heaven.

Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns.

And on his heads were seven diamonds.

This is the dragon that tries to devour the Messiah.

And after failing, makes war on the woman's offspring.

On those who keep the commandments of God and the testimony of Jesus.

And hold on to the testimony of Jesus.

This is the one that was described in chapter 12 as the ancient serpent,

who is called the devil, Satan, the deceiver of the world.

And he's also called the accuser of our brothers.

This is the arch enemy of God's people.

He's the fiend behind all fiends.

This is the dragon that gives his power and authority to the beast with seven heads,

which represents the worldly rulers and the kingdoms that oppose God and persecute his people.

And so this beast is a combination of the four beasts that you find in Daniel 7, Babylon, Persia, Macedonia, and Rome.

And it's a composite picture of all four of those beasts.

So it's the beast of all beasts with seven heads.

Because all those beasts, if you add up their heads, you get seven heads.

And so that was the second sign, the dragon.

Dragon, the enemy of God and his people, and his beast.

So then the first two signs depicted the woman and the dragon.

The church and Satan who are at war with each other.

And if you think about that war,

the outcome seems bleak.

Who wins in a fight between a dragon and a woman.

But here, the Lord God enters the fray,

the other's messengers.

Seven angels with seven plagues,

which are the last,

for with them the wrath of God is finished.

The word plague here doesn't mean what it typically means in English,

like pestilence or an epidemic disease.

The word plague here means blow or strike or wound.

It's the exact same Greek word that's used to describe in the Greek translation,

the Old Testament,

the ten plagues of Egypt.

The ten blows or strikes of Egypt.

So this is the first illusion to Exodus in this chapter.

But this, why is there ten,

not ten plagues like Egypt,

why is there seven?

Because the number seven,

as we've seen over and over again

throughout the book of Revelation,

symbolizes fullness or completion.

Because God completed his creation in the course of seven days.

But not only that,

also because the dragon and the beast,

as I mentioned,

each have seven heads.

The Lord God enters the ring,

so to speak,

and delivers seven fatal blows

to the seven heads of the dragon and the beast.

Seven mortal wounds from which the dragon will never recover.

This is the final fulfillment of the promise of Romans 16, 20,

that God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

These seven plagues are called the seven bowls,

full of the wrath of God in verse 7.

So this presents the last of the seven series of judgments that we've seen

throughout Revelation.

We saw the seven seals in chapter 6,

that was the first,

and then the seven trumpets in chapters 8 and 9,

and then we saw the seven thunders,

which were not given details about the thunders,

but they were mentioned in chapter 10.

And now we are introduced to the seven bowls,

which will be detailed in chapter 16.

And I've said to you before

that these series of seven judgments

are not meant to be understood

in a linear chronological way.

If you try to interpret that way,

you run into some contradictions and problems

because things that should have already happened

happen again later on in the other judgments.

For example, sun's blackened in the seals,

but then it's again darkened by a third

later on in the trumpet judgments of Revelation 8, 12.

Every mountain and island is removed

in the sixth seal of chapter 6,

but then the island and mountains flee again

in chapter 16.

So these are not meant to be linear chronological events,

but rather they are kind of cyclical.

They're recapitulating the judgment

that happens throughout the church age.

However, they're not endlessly cyclical.

They do have a progression.

They have an end point, a climactic point.

So each seventh judgment,

the seventh seal, the seventh trumpet,

and the seventh bowl all climaxed

with the presence of God,

the full presence and appearance of God in judgment.

And that's accompanied by peals of thunder,

rumblings, flashes of lightning,

and an earthquake.

And John, in order to convey the fact

that the judgments of God,

even though they're presented in this cyclical way here,

that there's a progression

and that they intensify throughout the church age,

he kind of chains these sevens together

in interlocking formation.

So the seventh seal opens the way

for the seven trumpets,

and then the seventh trumpet opens the way

for the seven bowls,

as I've mentioned before,

like the Russian dolls.

You open one and there's another one.

But in Revelation,

it's a reverse Russian doll,

because when you open it,

the doll gets bigger,

and it intensifies.

In the seals,

it's just that the judgments

only affect the fourth of the earth.

In the trumpets,

the judgments affect the third of the earth.

And in the final bowls,

it affects all of the earth.

So it's coming,

crescendoing,

coming to that climactic end point.

It's like the Lord God

who has entered the ring

is circling the dragon,

the enemy,

and gradually narrowing

and narrowing and narrowing

until the dragon has no place to go

before he can inflict the final blow,

the knockdown blow.

And with this,

the bowls,

and Charlie will preach on this

so I won't get into detail next week,

it's the wrath of God is finished.

But the plagues

are not the only thing

that's reminiscent of Exodus.

Verse 2 also mentions a sea,

like the Red Sea of Exodus.

It says in verse 2,

And I saw what appeared to be

a sea of glass mingled with fire.

And also those who had conquered the beast

and its image and the number of its name

standing beside the sea of glass

with harps of God in their hands.

The sea of God is happening back

to the glorious throne vision

that John had in chapter 4

where he said that before the throne of God

there was as it were

a sea of glass like crystal.

It's not a coincidence

that Jewish rabbinic commentary

on Exodus,

Exodus 15.8 for example,

says that God, quote,

froze the Red Sea for them

and he became like vessels of glass.

So this is again an allusion to Exodus.

The sea,

as I've mentioned throughout Revelation,

is a frequent symbol

of cosmic chaos and evil.

So in the Old Testament,

the sea was the abode

of the ancient serpent,

the sea dragon,

Leviathan.

This is why in Revelation 12.17 and 13.1,

both the dragon and his beast,

they emerged from the sea,

out of the sea.

And that's why

when God comes in his final judgment

and brings about the new heavens

and the new earth,

in Revelation 21.1,

he says the sea was no more.

So instead of the sea,

we find here in Revelation 22,

there is the river

of the water of life,

bright as crystal.

That's what we see in the end.

So the sea of glass,

like crystal that we see here

in chapter 15,

is a symbol of God's victory

over evil.

It's a sea that has been frozen

or a sea that has been vanquished

and tranquilized

by the fire of God's judgment.

That's why verse 2 says,

it's a sea of glass

mingled with fire.

It is a serene sea of glass

because there's no longer

any struggle or contest.

The cosmic forces of evil

have been vanquished.

So there's this beautiful

sea of glass,

like crystal underneath

God's feet before his throne.

A crystal, as you know,

is a clear, transparent mineral.

It looks like glass,

it looks like ice.

It reflects light

into resplendent colors.

You might recall

from Exodus 24

that when Moses

and Aaron

and Nadab

and Abihu

and the 70 elders

ascend the mountain

to see the God of Israel,

it says,

they don't get to see

the fullness of God.

They don't get to see

God's face,

but they do get to see

God's feet,

what's underneath

God's feet.

And this is what it says

in Exodus 24.10,

under his feet

as it were a pavement

of sapphire stone,

like the very heaven

for clearness.

Similarly,

in prophet Ezekiel's vision

of the throne room of God,

in Ezekiel 1.22,

he sees the four living creatures

who are attending to God

and serving him,

and over the heads

of the living creatures,

he says,

there was the likeness

of an expanse

shining like awe-inspiring crystal

spread out above their heads.

So I think all of these prophets

are reporting the same

breathtaking vision

of the throne room of God.

Underneath his feet

is a translucent sea

of sapphire blue crystal,

symbol of his conquering

of the sea and the dragon.

And because God has conquered,

all those who belong to him,

his people,

have also conquered.

So it says in verse 2

that John saw those

who had conquered the beast

and its image

and the number of its name

standing beside the sea of glass

with harps of God

in their hands.

Who are these people?

This is the same group

that we saw earlier

in chapter 14,

the 144,000

who are singing a new song

that only those

who have been redeemed

from the earth

can learn and sing.

And he said there

that their voice

was like the sound of harpists

playing on the harps.

And so these are

the saints of God,

the elect from every age,

the church of Christ.

Those who Revelation 12, 11

describe as those

who have conquered the dragon

by the blood of the lamb

and by the word

of their testimony,

for they love not their lives

even unto death.

What does that mean?

Not all faithful Christians

are martyrs,

but they all love Christ

more than life itself.

As Jesus said in John 12, 24-25,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

unless a grain of wheat

falls to the earth and dies,

it remains alone.

But if it dies,

it bears much fruit.

Whoever loves his life

will lose it.

And whoever hates his life

in this world

will keep it for eternal life.

Christians are those people

who are persevering

by the blood of the lamb

and by the word

of their testimony.

They hold on

to the gospel of Jesus

that we are cleansed

and washed

and forgiven

by the blood

of Jesus Christ,

that good news

that Jesus was

the sacrificial lamb

who died on our behalf.

And they also bear testimony

to Jesus

with the word

of their testimony

by sharing that good news

of Jesus Christ

with others.

And because of the dragon

and his beast,

in this world,

we face tribulation

and distress

and persecution

and famine

and nakedness

and danger

and sword.

We're regarded

as sheep to be slaughtered.

But still,

in all these things,

we are more than conquerors

through Jesus

who loved us.

Why?

Because nothing

will be able

to separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

It's from Romans 8.

Even though the beast

might conquer us

temporally in this life,

we will conquer him

eternally.

Our future victory

is seen in the fact

that we are standing

beside a sea of glass

in the throne room of God,

in the very presence of God,

with harps of God

in our hands.

We are not fallen

by the sea.

We are standing

by the sea

in the same way

that the Lamb

who was slain

in chapter 5,

Revelation,

the Lamb who had been slain,

Jesus Christ,

was seen standing

before the presence

of God

in chapter 5.

Likewise,

God's people

will be standing

in resurrection power

in eternity.

And we're not

standing idly by.

We have the harps

of God in our hands.

There are two

primary instruments

that are mentioned

in the book of Revelation.

One is trumpet

and two is harps.

Trumpets,

in view in scripture,

are generally ram's horns,

not like the musical instruments

and the trumpets

that you guys play.

Those are great instruments.

But these trumpets

in the Bible

are not nearly

as versatile or useful.

Their main function

is just being loud.

And so the trumpets

are used

usually in scripture

in the context of war.

trumpet blasts

to threaten

and to warn enemies

you're coming.

Trumpet blasts

to rally your troops

to come.

So it's no surprise

when the trumpet blasts

in Revelation

announce the judgments

of God

over and over again.

Harps, however,

are different.

They have a different purpose.

You never play harps

during war.

Right?

He says in 1 Chronicles 15-16

that the purpose of harps

is to, quote,

raise sounds of joy.

He says in 2 Samuel 6-5

that the purpose of harps

is to celebrate

before the Lord.

The Psalms are full

of exhortations

to praise God

with harps.

So the fact that

the saints of God

are holding harps

in their hands

by that crystal seed

before the throne of God

is a representation

of our victory celebration.

The war will be

finally over

and the trumpet blasts

will cease

and they will give way

to the bright strings

of harps

celebrating our

eternal victory.

And verse 3 says,

they sing the song

of Moses,

the servant of God,

and the song of the Lamb.

Here's yet another allusion

to the Exodus,

Song of Moses.

This is a reference

to Exodus 15,

when after God

delivers his people

out of Egypt

through the Passover

and through the Red Sea

by splitting the Red Sea,

Moses sings his song.

He writes a song

of praise to God

in Exodus 15.

Similarly,

after God delivers

his people

in this ultimate

end time Exodus,

all of the redeemed

will sing

the Song of the Lamb.

This song

is being emphasized,

highlighted in this passage

because it's sandwiched

between the two mentions

of the seven plagues

of God's wrath.

It's a common

literary device

that scripture writers

use to sandwich

an important thing

with two similar things

to highlight it,

like the meat

of the sandwich.

That's the meat.

And it goes like this,

the psalm,

verse 3.

Great and amazing

are your deeds,

O Lord God,

the Almighty.

Just and true

are your ways,

O King of the Nations.

In verse 1,

John said that the signs,

the signs that he saw

of God's seven plague judgments

were great and amazing.

And those exact same words

are used here

in the Song of the Lamb.

Great and amazing

are your deeds.

So there's,

he's connecting

the sign that he saw

to the great deeds of God.

So the song is praising God

for,

specifically for his deeds

of judgment.

And God here is called

the Lord God,

the Almighty,

which highlights

God's absolute sovereignty.

The Lord God is not

somewhat mighty,

but almighty.

The Lord God is not

partially sovereign.

He is totally sovereign.

And this is why

he is declared

and claimed

as the king

of the nations.

Not a king

of one nation.

The king

of all nations.

Verse 3

also praises God

in this way,

just and true

are your ways.

This clause

echoing a couple

different Old Testament

passages.

In Daniel 4,

Babylonian king

Nebuchadnezzar

in his hubris

boasts about how

he in his own might

built his glorious kingdom.

And God

brings him down

a couple of notches

and humbles him

by taking away

his reason

and reducing him

to the state

of animal-like existence

for a period of time.

And after that,

God restores his senses

and when he returns

to his senses,

Nebuchadnezzar

then starts to praise

and extol

and honor

the king of heaven

saying,

for all his works

are right

and his ways

are just

and those who

walk in pride

he is able to humble.

So the connection

here is that

God's ways

are just

and true

in him

humbling the wicked

who have resisted him.

Similarly,

Deuteronomy 32.4

says of God

the rock

his work

is perfect

for all his ways

are justice.

A God of faithfulness

and without iniquity

just and upright

is he.

So in the words

just and true

are primarily

again speaking

of God's justice

and truthfulness

in executing

his judgments.

God is being fair

and just

according to his

unerring standards

and he's being true

to his own

unchanging character

in bringing about

these judgments.

This focus

on the judgments

of God

is confirmed

by Revelation 16.7

and 19.2

both of which

use these exact

same words

and say

true and just

are your judgments.

We

in our

limited

understanding

in our

fallen

sin affected

perspective

might not

always understand

the why

of God's judgments.

Why God?

But we

can trust

who God is

that he's

faithful

and true.

He's always

going to be

true to whom

he's revealed

himself to be

and he's

always going

to be

faithful.

therefore we

can rest

assured that

God will

be an

impartial

and exacting

judge at the

time of the

last assize.

Verse 4

continues the

song of the

Lamb.

Who will

not fear

the Lord

and glorify

your name?

This verse

is an allusion

to Jeremiah

10, 6-7.

It says,

There is none

like you,

O Lord.

You are

great and

your name

is great

in might.

Who would

not fear

you,

O king of

the nations?

For this

is your

due.

For among

all the

wise ones

of the

nations

and in all

their kingdoms

there is

none like

you.

Fear and

glory are

God's due.

There is

none among

all the

earth,

all the

nations of

earth,

that is

exempt from

this duty

to worship

God,

not one.

Even more

immediately,

verse 4

is echoing

Revelation 14,

7,

which we saw

last week,

which said,

Fear God

and give him

glory because

the hour of

his judgment

has come.

At that point

it was a

command,

fear God

and give

him glory

because of

his judgment.

But now

it's a rhetorical

question.

Who will

not fear

the Lord

and glorify

your name?

The assumed

answer is

no one.

There is

not one

soul in

the universe

who will

not fear

the Lord

and glorify

his name

when his

final judgments

are revealed.

As I

mentioned

last week,

there are

only two

types of

people in

the world.

Those who

now voluntarily

repent their

sins and

worship God

or those who

will later

in the future

involuntarily

worship God.

One way

or the

other,

God will

get the

worship that

is due

to him.

But if

you wait

until that

final judgment,

you will

not escape

his judgment.

The rest

of verse 4

gives us

three reasons

why all

will fear

God and

glorify his

name.

It says,

one,

for you

are holy.

Then two,

for all

nations will

come and

worship you.

So ESV

omits the

word for,

but it's

there in

the original

Greek.

And then

finally,

third,

for your

righteous

acts have

been revealed.

The first

reason is

for you

are holy.

A more

literal

translation

would be

for alone

holy.

God is

alone holy.

He is

unique and

unparalleled in

his holiness.

He alone

is holy.

Therefore,

all will fear

him and glorify

his name.

The most

basic meaning

of holiness

is consecration.

I know we

often typically

think of holiness

as the opposite

of wickedness,

which is true

by implication,

but the

Bible usually

contrasts what

is holy

from what

is common.

For example,

it says in

Leviticus 10.10,

you are to

distinguish between

the holy and

the common,

and between

the unclean

and the clean.

So to be

holy is to

be uncommon,

to be specially

set apart.

So the

holiness of

God then

conveys how

God is

unlike us,

how he

is set apart

from us,

that he

is the

incomparable

one,

that he

is the

peerless

one,

that he

is the

matchless

one,

that he

is the

unrivaled

one.

He

alone is

holy.

And God

is not

merely

holy.

We saw

in Revelation

4.8 that

he is

thrice

holy.

Holy,

holy,

holy.

He is

utterly

perfect in

his

holiness.

Numbers 23,

19 contrasts

man and

God.

God is not

man that he

should lie,

or son of

man that he

should change

his mind.

Has he

said and

will he not

do it?

Or has he

spoken and

will he not

fulfill it?

Humans are

fickle.

They lie,

they change

their mind,

and they break

their promises.

They

need on

their

word.

But God

never

lies.

God never

changes his

mind.

God always

fulfills his

promises.

God is

alone holy

for that

reason.

In the

world of

men,

there are

wrongful

convictions

and unduly

harsh

sentences.

In the

world of

men,

there are

wrongful

acquittals

and unduly

lenient

sentences.

because men

are fickle.

Because men

can be

bribed and

corrupted.

Because men

can be

biased and

prejudiced.

But God

cannot be

bribed.

And God's

justice cannot

be perverted.

And no

evidence can

ever be

hidden from

the all-seeing

eyes of God.

And for that

reason, on that

final judgment

day, all

wrongs will

be righted,

and all

those who

escape justice

in this world

of men will

be punished

by God.

That's a

comforting

Bible.

Also, all

will fear

God and

glorify His

name, for

all nations

will come

and worship

you.

This is an

allusion to

Psalm 86,

9-10 that

we read in

our cult

worship this

morning.

All the

inhabitants of

earth who

had worshipped

the dragon

and worshipped

the beast,

thinking that

they are

all-powerful,

thinking that

they will

rule forever,

all those

who bowed

to economic

pressure and

religious

persecution of

the beast,

all those who

took on the

image of the

beast and

the number

of His

name,

will be

dismayed when

they see all

nations come

and worship

God and

His Lamb.

And when

they behold

that mighty

throne,

worshipping

God,

they will be

forced to

bow their

knees and

confess that

Jesus Christ

is Lord to

the glory of

God the

Father.

Even those

who stubbornly

defied God

in this

life and

all those

unbelievers

who,

as Revelation

16,

9 said,

did not

repent and

give God

glory,

they will

come and

worship God

on that

day.

The third

reason why

all people

will fear

God and

glorify His

name is

given at

the end

of verse

4.

For your

righteous

acts have

been

revealed.

Consistent

with the

theme of

this chapter,

I think

this is

also

referring

to

righteous

acts

that have

just been

revealed,

righteous

acts of

God's

judgment.

God

deserves

praise for

pouring out

His

righteous

wrath on

the wicked.

Do you

praise God

for His

wrath and

His

justice?

I still

remember

2016,

some of

you guys

probably

remember

this in

the news,

when a

Stanford

University

student was

sentenced to

six months

in jail,

not six

years,

six months

for sexually

assaulting an

unconscious

woman on

campus.

When the

word got

out that

that was

his sentence,

there was

widespread

public

fury at

the unduly

lenient

sentence.

And soon

thereafter,

a Stanford

law professor

launched a

campaign to

remove the

judge who

gave that

sentence.

It was the

first attempt

to recall a

trial judge

anywhere in

the country

since 1982.

And no

California

judge had

ever been

recalled since

1932.

But this

judge was

recalled.

Whenever we

see this

scared of

justice,

we long

for true

justice.

It's not a

good thing

when justice

is not

served.

God's

righteous

acts are

finally

revealed,

when he

finally

judges the

wicked of

the earth,

all will

fear him

and glorify

his name.

After the

song of the

lamb,

John's vision

shifts in

verse 5 and

he sees the

sanctuary of

the tent of

witness that

heaven was

opened.

This is yet

another allusion

to Exodus,

the tent of

witness,

or the

tent of

the

testimony,

as it is

often called

in the Old

Testament,

is another

name for

the

tabernacle

that Moses

and the

Israelites

built in

the wilderness

to be the

dwelling place

of God.

This

tent of

witness in

heaven is

the heavenly

equivalent of

the earthly

tabernacle that

was with

God's people

on that

Exodus

journey.

The

tabernacle is

called the

tent of

witness or

the tent of

testimony because

according to

Exodus 25-21,

the tablets of

the testimony,

the tablets of

stone upon

which the

ten commandments

were inscribed

by the very

finger of

God,

the tablets of

the testimony

were in the

ark and stored

inside the

tabernacle and

that's why the

tabernacle is

called the

tabernacle of

testimony or

the tent of

witness.

It served to

be as a

witness between

God and his

people that

they had pledged

to live in

light of God's

will and to

obey his

commands.

Remember how

Revelation 12-17

described God's

faithful people.

They are those

who keep the

commandments of

God and hold

to the testimony

of Jesus.

So it's fitting

then that here in

verse 6, the

seven plagues

come out of the

sanctuary, out of

this tent of

witness against

people of the

world who have

not kept the

commandments of

God and who

have not held

on to the

testimony of

Jesus.

The tent of

witness is now

bearing witness

against, testify

against the

people of the

world who have

refused to

repent of

their sins.

In verse 7,

these seven

plagues are

identified explicitly

with the seven

golden bowls full

of the wrath of

God.

This is

significant because

we have seen

golden bowls before

in the book of

Revelation.

In Revelation 5-8,

the 24 elders

before the

throne of God

were holding

golden bowls full

of incense,

which are the

prayers of the

saints.

Incense symbolically

represents the

prayers of the

saints in

Revelation.

And those

prayers of the

saints, that

incense is what

we saw in

Revelation 6-10

when the saints

were crying out,

O sovereign

Lord, holy and

true, how long

before you will

judge and avenge

our blood on

those who dwell

on the earth?

In Revelation 8,

3-5, we saw

how God finally

answers the

saints' plea for

vindication and

vengeance in the

seventh seal

judgment when the

golden censer or

the bowl that

contained the

incense is then

taken to take

the fire, the

coals from the

fire to throw

upon the earth

in judgment

against the

earth's woes

or in rebellion

against God.

To all the

saints who are

weary from

being harassed by

the red dragon

and the beast,

to all the

saints who are

weary and

battle-hearted

because of the

deceptions and

the accusations

of the dragon,

this is your

sweet belief.

This is your

vindication.

This is the

answer to your

cry for help.

Seven golden

bowls, the

answer to the

prayers of the

saints, not

full of the

wrath of God.

And again, I

mentioned last

week that the

cup or the

bowl of God's

wrath is an

Old Testament

reference.

Isaiah 51, 17,

51, 17 speaks of

the cup of God's

wrath, the

bowl, the

cup of

staggering.

51, 22,

Isaiah says,

the cup of

staggering, the

bowl of God's

wrath.

And unrepentant

sinners will be

forced to

down this

terrible,

undiluted

liquor of

God's wrath

to the

dregs.

The fierce,

wrathful presence

of God can be

seen in verse

8.

Just as the

cloud, or

alternatively

smoke, covered

the tent of

meeting in

Exodus 40,

34, 35,

after completion

of the

tabernacle,

it said that

the glory of

the Lord

filled the

tabernacle and

Moses was not

able to enter

the tent of

meeting because

the clouds

settled on

it, and

the glory of

the Lord

filled the

tabernacle.

That same

event happens

here in

verse 8,

in greater

fullness.

The sanctuary

was filled with

smoke from the

glory of God

and from his

power, and no

one could enter

the sanctuary

until the seven

plagues of the

seven angels

were finished.

The wrath of

God is the

unquenchable flame

of the glory of

God towards

sinners.

sinners, and

when the

consuming fire

is burning in

his righteous

anger, not

even the

heavenly beings,

they are

of course.

No one can

enter until the

wrath of God

is finished.

I want to

appeal to those

of you and

friends here who

are not yet

Christians, who

have not put

their faith in

Jesus.

This is

something we

should truly

fear.

More than an

AI apocalypse,

more than a

nuclear holocaust.

What we

should truly

fear is the

wrath of God,

not the wrath of

man or the

wrath of the

nations.

Do not fear

those who kill

the body but

cannot kill

the soul, but

fear him who

can destroy both

soul and

body in hell.

But, having

we all sinned,

having we all

fallen short of

the glory of

God?

Isn't that what

the Bible teaches?

And the

righteous wrath

of God will

not stop

unfinished.

It will not

let up until

it is finished,

he says, until

justice has been

served.

He says in

verse 1 that

with the seven

plagues the wrath

of God is

finished.

He says in

verse 8, no

one can enter the

sanctuary until

the seven plagues

of the seven

angels were

finished.

but those

who face that

judgment do

not escape.

They are

consumed forever.

So how can we

escape that final

judgment of God?

There's only one

way for us to be

saved.

In John chapter

John 19 · chapter mention

19, Jesus the

Son of God as he

is dying on the

cross for our

sins, bearing the

penalty for our

sins.

absorbing in our

place the wrath

of God, satisfying

the wrath of God

to our sinners.

On that cross,

Jesus says as his

breath is expiring,

it is finished.

Because there on

that cross, Jesus

himself drank down

to the dregs that

bowl of wrath that

was reserved for

us.

That's the only

way for us to

be saved.

There is a

bowl.

Somebody must

drink it.

If you don't

accept Jesus'

sacrifice on your

behalf, drinking

that for you,

you'll be the one

drinking it in

the end.

And Jesus had

to die because

that was the

only way to

satisfy the

wrath of God.

The fact that

God was

forbearing towards

sinners throughout

the ages, that he

didn't punish

sinners right then

and there with

his fire of

judgment, that we

are still alive

right now instead

of being consumed

by the wrath and

the judgment of

God, that brings

into question

the justice of

God.

It impugns the

character of

God.

God, are you

always really

true and just?

If so, what's

going on in this

world?

What's with all

this sin?

What's with all

this wickedness?

What's with all

this evil outside

and within my

own heart?

How can you

be just and

tolerate this

sin?

the cross had

to happen.

Jesus had to

die.

He had to

satisfy the

wrath of God

in order to

vindicate God's

character, that

his ways truly

are true and

just, that he

is the just

judge worthy of

our worship.

So please, don't

wait until the

end of the age

when the sudden

plates are

finished.

you can't

today hear Jesus

proclaim over

your sins, no

matter what you

have done, no

matter where you

have been, you

can hear Jesus

say, oh, you,

it is

finished.

Let's pray.

Father, we

praise you, your

son Jesus

Christ.

We praise you

that we do

not have to

bear the penalty

for our sins

or sins.