Seeing God as He Really Is
Rev 19:1-4 19 1 After this (After what? Chapters 17 & 18 painted a picture of the downfall of Rome and the bigger picture of the downfall of Satan. What follows is a scene of worship and celebration, once again following the pattern of what we have seen in Revelation - conflict, defeat of Satan, and celebration and worship. This pattern starts in chapter 6 and is built around the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets, and the 7 bowls of wrath.
I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: Hallelujah!
You have probably heard the word “Hallelujah”! Maybe you have even said it before. It seems to be one of those good Biblical words – and it is.
· It is one of those rare words that never seems to be translated in other languages – it is always pronounced as “Hallelujah”.
· Simply broken down – “Hallelu” – praise, “jah” - God
· I did some study of the word and was surprised to find that it doesn’t appear that many times in the Bible. You will find the Hebrew version 24 times in the OT, all in the book of Psalms. You only find it used 4 times in the New Testament.
· Guess where all 4 are found – right, the book of Revelation, but not spread throughout the book, all 4 are found in the first 6 verses of chapter 19 - the chapter we are going to look at today.
· That caused me to take pause, take a step back and see that this chapter is all about giving God the praise for who He is and what He has done, is doing, and will do.
· So, today, I want us to take a step back from trying to figure out everything about Revelation and just simply center things around “Hallelujah” praise God.
· I’m going to use three words you may or may not be familiar with. You may have heard them applied to God by may not have thought much about them. They are big words but not hard to understand.
· You won’t find these words in the Bible but they are man’s attempt to describe the amazing qualities and characteristics of God.
1. Praise Him for His Omnipotence
a. Definition - one who has unlimited power or authority, one who is all powerful
i. We need to think of God more like this than we do.
ii. He is an all powerful God and we see it illustrated in Revelation 19.
iii. This chapter illustrates for us His power
b. We see His power in judgment Vs. 1b & 2
i. Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, 2 for true and just are his judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of his servants."
ii. The word “power” is the word we get our English word “dynamite”.
iii. Salvation and glory belong to our powerful God. He is the only one capable of giving salvation and the only one worth of glory.
iv. He is the only that can bring down the evil of Satan (the great prostitute).
v. He is the only one that can avenge the blood of the servants who died for Him.
c. We see power in Jesus and His Word
i. When I was in graduate school I took a class on Revelation and one of the assignments was to read the book of Revelation through in one sitting. I remember the day I did that. I was in my office and when I finished chapter 19 it was like someone threw a switch and I saw the big picture! This is what it is all about. Jesus is victorious for us over Satan! Chapter 19 is the crescendo, the turning point, the victory celebration. Jesus appears in full power.
ii. Listen and try to visualize the powerful description of Jesus.
iii. Rev 19:11-16 - 11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True.
iv. With justice he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
v. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron scepter." He treads the winepress of the fury of the
vi. wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
. We see His power in His defeat of Satan
i. 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured,
ii. SLIDE and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of
iii. SLIDE them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest of them were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.
iv. The beast, representing Satan and all those who followed him were destroyed – cast into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
v. The rest were killed by the sword – the Word of God.
e. When you look at the picture here it is not much of a contest. Satan and his forces have no power over God and they are quickly disposed of.
f. So, praise Him for His Omnipotence. Praise Him for His power.
i. He is the one who spoke into existence the universe and everything in it.
ii. He is the one who places the breath of life into man and gives him His spirit – the spirit of life.
iii. He is the one who formed great mountains and mighty rivers and vast oceans and at the same time created the beauty of a rose petal and the softness of a baby’s skin.
iv. This is the God that is praised in Revelation.
v. This is the God to be praised today.
vi. Sing the Doxology
vii. Pray – Thank you for being all powerful
2. Praise Him for His Presence – Omnipresence – all present, eternal
a. 3 And again they shouted: "Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever." (from vs. 2 that speaks of the downfall of Satan) 4 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. And they cried: "Amen, Hallelujah!"
b. SLIDE 5 Then a voice came from the throne, saying: "Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, both small and great!" 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
c. That last phrase is the one I want to Zoom in on – “For our Lord God Almighty reigns”
d. When someone reigns over a kingdom his influence and presence is felt throughout the kingdom.
e. Def - God is everywhere on heaven and on earth. He is aware of all things and oversees all things.
f. We find Him on every page in Revelation. Was it a new idea in John’s day when he was writing this? No
g. You will find the idea of the omnipresence of God throughout the Bible.
i. Ps 113:3-6 3 Everywhere—from east to west—praise the name of the Lord. 4 For the Lord is high above the nations; his glory is higher than the heavens. 5 Who can be compared with the Lord our God, who is enthroned on high? 6 He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth.
ii. Prov 15:3 The Lord is watching everywhere, keeping his eye on both the evil and the good.
iii. Jer 23:23-24 23 Am I a God who is only close at hand?" says the Lord. "No, I am far away at the same time. 24 Can anyone hide from me in a secret place? Am I not everywhere in all the heavens and earth?" says the Lord.
h. This has two major applications:
i. First, because God is omnipresent, you and I are never alone. Jesus Christ promises to be with us always and everywhere (Matthew 28:18-20 – Lo, I am with you always).
ii. Second, because God is omnipresent, we can’t hide from Him, even when we think nobody is watching. That should give us a real sense of accountability. We will one day stand before God Rom 14:10-12 For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11 It is written: "'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'" 12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
iii. That verse is why we need the grace and forgiveness of a loving but powerful God.
iv. So, Hallelujah for God’s presence, omnipresence among us.
3. Praise Him because He is “omniscient” – all knowing
a. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear." (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'"
i. This is beautiful imagery – there’s going to be a wedding. The celebration of a union. The wedding is the coming together of Christ and His church.
ii. This is elaborated on in chapter 21, so we will deal more with this in a couple of weeks.
b.
And he added, "These are the true words of God." 10 At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Do not do it! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."
c. God is all knowing, He had a plan from the very beginning.
d. His words are true – vs 9 – These are the true words of God.
e. This brought John to his knees and he looked at the angel to give him worship. The angel then directs him to the only one worthy of worship – God.
i. The omnipotent God – all powerful
ii. The omnipresent God – all present
iii. The omniscient God – all knowing
f. The angel declares that Jesus brings it all together – the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
g. All the prophecies of the OT came true through Jesus.
i. God laid the plan.
ii. God knew the plan.
iii. God followed the plan.
h. Revelation 19 is the grand crescendo of His plan.
i. Guess what? God laid the plan. God knows the plan. God will bring the plan to completion.
j. When believe God’s plan – We Win! We Win! We Win! Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah