The Four Hallelujah's Series

Revelation 19:1-6

Purpose: To highlight the joy that awaits believers.

Aim: I want the listener to examine their hearts to make sure they belong to Christ.

INTRODUCTION: As Chapter 18 of Revelation closes, the kingdom of the Antichrist and the Beast has destroyed peace and prosperity on the earth. Almost everything is in shambles. The leaders who had promised peace and security are now discredited. As Isaiah the prophet predicted: Isaiah 14:16-17 “Those who see you will gaze at you, They will ponder over you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world like a wilderness And overthrew its cities, Who did not allow his prisoners to go home?’ (NAU)

Great darkness now covers the earth. God’s followers have been hunted down and slaughtered like never before in the history of the earth. The few Christians that remain can’t buy or sell openly and are forced to live off of the black market and remain in hiding somewhere.

All appears to be lost. Just when it seems certain that there is no hope the Righteous King of the universe breaks through the clouds and reverses everything the antichrist and the Beast had inflicted on this earth.

Just when life seems darkest, God can break though our clouds and show us that everything is, and always has been, in His powerful and loving hand. There is NEVER a reason for a Christian to be in despair.

Today we are going to learn some important truths about worship.

REVIEW:

1:1-20 I. John’s Vision of the Past “the things which you have seen”

2:1-5:14 II. Christ’s Vision of the Present “the things which are”

Ch.6-22 III. John’s Vision of the Future “things which will take places”

6-7; 12-14 A. Satan’s war against God’s creation: the first six seals

8-11; 13:11-18; 15-18 B. The wrath of God: the seventh seal

LESSON:

Ch.19-20 C. The worship of God

19:1 1. A description of worship “salvation…glory…power”

Here we see worship that is loud and large.

Contrast the joyful worship of believers to the response from unbelievers when they reacted to the same scene: Revelation 18:10-11 standing at a distance because of the fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.’ “And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn over her, because no one buys their cargoes any more— (NAU)

“The voices are of all those in heaven including: (1) the voices of the Church, having been ruptured before the Tribulation, (2) the voices of the Tribulation saints, many of whom were martyred (Rev. 6:9; 7:14; 12:11; 13:7, 15; 15:2; 16:6; 20:4), and (3) the voices of various ranks of angels. They sing in unison as one mighty, thunderous voice (Rev. 19:6). [1]

Worship directs our attention to the wonder of who God is. For example, Revelation 7:12 saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” (NAU)

Psalm 22:23 You who fear the Lord, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel. (NAU)

Psalm 135:1-3 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord; Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, You who stand in the house of the Lord, In the courts of the house of our God! Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely. (NAU)

Many books have been written about the quality of our worship—some of them are very good, many of them are not. But, very little has been said about the QUANTITY of our worship. Verse 5 is a command. Compare verse 5 with Revelation 18:20 “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her.” (NAU)

It is convicting when we see how often believers in the Bible, especially in the book of Revelation, worship God and how rare it is that we worship God today.

Knowing the reasons why we should worship God should help us worship Him more often.

“Salvation - They praise Him for His deliverance and reward to all who trust Him to fulfill His promises and plan.

Glory - they praise Him for His attributes and character, recognizing that He alone deserves to be praised.

Power - they praise Him for His greatness; no one can do what He can do, an ability marvelously made manifest during the tribulation period.” [2]

19:2-6 2. Four reasons to worship God

Here we have four “Hallelujah’s” which is, “A transliteration of the Hebrew, הַלְלוּ־יָהּ [hallû–yāh] , a command: You all praise Jah! (e.g., Ps. 106:48). The first occurrence of the word Hallelujah in the OT corresponds with the context of its usage here: “Sinners shall be consumed out of the earth, and the wicked shall be no more. Bless Jehovah, O my soul. Hallelujah!” (Psalm 104:35).