Revelation 8:1-6; 15:1-8
Purpose: To display God’s wrath against sin.
Aim: I want the listener to gain a greater sense of God’s awesome holiness.
INTRODUCTION: The Lord is about to unmask the full fury of His wrath against sin. All of man’s vain attempts to excuse or ignore sin will be stripped away and laid bare for everyone to see. The book of Revelation is a loud warning that judgment is coming.
There are a number of ways to get people’s attention. Being loud is one way. In the book of Revelation the word “great” is used 71 times; “great voice” or “great cry” is used 18 times; “loud voice” is used 12 times. This makes the statement in verse one of chapter eight even more startling.
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
LESSON:
➽8-11; 15-18 B. The wrath of God: the seventh seal
After the breaking of the first six seals there will be several events that will serve as a dramatic pause before the seventh seal is opened. It all begins with complete silence for thirty minutes.
➽1. The preparation for God’s wrath
I believe that the lesson for us, in our text today, is the supreme importance of the exaltation of Jesus Christ. I fear that American Christians, and yes I am in that number, have largely lost their focus on holiness. We have allowed the things of this world and our own personal desires to distract us from loving and serving Jesus Christ as we should. The world sees little difference between Christians and non-Christians. Both groups appear to be looking for pleasure and wealth. Both groups enjoy the same worldly entertainment. Both groups divorce at almost the same rate. What has gone wrong?
I fear that American Christians, and yes I am in that number, have largely lost their focus on holiness. We have allowed the things of this world and our own personal desires to distract us from loving and serving Jesus Christ as we should. Christ is best displayed to the world when Christians are willing to suffer and still display a love for Jesus. Sadly, many who claim to know Christ are constantly looking for the easiest way to follow Christ, instead of desiring to glorify Christ no matter what it may cost.
Let’s look at our text and see what we can learn about our God. As we approach the greatest judgments this world has ever seen we would think that it would start with something dramatic. It does, but in a way we might expect.
➽8:1-2 a. A dramatic pause in heaven “silence in heaven”
Imagine complete silence for thirty minutes. I am going to pause for 15 seconds. That seems like a long time because we are so used to filling our lives with constant noise. It is probably rare for most of us to turn off the TV and the radio and the IPod and sit quietly in God’s presence and just think about Him.
“It is not the silence of emptiness, of the yawn of boredom, but it is the silence of mystery and intense waiting. But most important of all, it is the silence of sovereignty.” [1]
What we need to do is shut off the world’s noise and listen to God. Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near… (NAU) Habakkuk 2:20 “But the Lord is in His holy temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him.” (NAU)
“A man told Joseph Parker that he had cursed God for thirty minutes and dared Him to strike him dead. He said, ‘I am living proof that God does not exist.’ Parker told him, ‘What makes you think you can exhaust the patience and mercy of Almighty God in thirty minutes? Sir, you are a fool. But God loves you and wants you to repent. And that, Sir, is the ONLY reason you are alive.’” [2]
God’s silence points to His complete confidence. God does not have to rush into anything, He is in complete control.
Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. (KJV)
Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by [or “be still”] and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today… (NAU)
When God is silent that is the time for us to listen even more closely. What should we do when God is silent? Watch and pray!
➽8:3-5 b. The prayers from believers “prayers of all the saints”
Vs.3-4 We are about to see God answer the prayers we heard in Revelation 6:9-10 9 When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (NAU)
God is answering the question, “When” by saying, “NOW.”
“Prayer is not how we get our will done in heaven; it is how God gets His will done on earth.” -- Bob Marcaurelle [4]
Isn’t this what Jesus told us to pray? Matthew 6:10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (NAU)
Notice the power of prayer in verse 5. It is prayer that turns the silence of God into an awesome display of God’s power. Oh, that we would pray more!
➽8:6 c. The gathering of the angels “angels…prepared themselves”
Maybe the angels were getting their trumpets out of storage and tuning them up.
“Trumpets have been used often in the life of Israel. A loud trumpet was blown at Mount Sinai at the giving of the law (Ex 19:19). One of the feasts Israel celebrated was called the Feasts of Trumpets (Lev 23:23-25). A trumpet was sounded on the Day of Atonement during the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:9). Two silver trumpets were used to assemble the children of Israel and direct them in moving from place to place during their wilderness journeys (Num 10:1-8). The trumpets were also used to sound the alarm for going to war and when sacrifices were offered at the various feasts and celebrations (Num 10:9-10). The prophet Joel speaks of a trumpet being blown to sound an alarm concerning the coming of the day of the LORD (Joel 2:1) and also speaks of a trumpet being blown to call the people of Israel to a feast and sacred assembly (2:15)." [4]
In chapter 15 we see more details about what these seven angels are getting ready to do. So, let’s turn there.
➽15:1-4 d. The song of the martyrs “sang the song”
Vs.1 The seven plagues (notice: Vss.1, 6, 7, 8) refer to the seven bowls of wrath in chapter 16 and I believe that these are the same as the seven trumpets in chapters 8-10.
In verse 3 we see victorious believers singing two different songs.
Vs.2-3a The song of Moses celebrated the Jew’s deliverance from Egypt through Moses, and the song of the Lamb celebrated our deliverance from sin through Christ.
Listen to excerpts from these songs:
Exodus 15:1-3 1 Then Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song to the Lord, and said, “I will sing to the Lord, for He is highly exalted; The horse and its rider He has hurled into the sea. 2 “The Lord is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; My father’s God, and I will extol Him. 3 “The Lord is a warrior; The Lord is His name. (NAU)
Exodus 15:6-8 6 “Your right hand, O Lord, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy. 7 “And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff. 8 “At the blast of Your nostrils the waters were piled up, The flowing waters stood up like a heap; The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea. (NAU)
Exodus 15:11-13 11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who
is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders? 12 “You stretched out Your right hand, The earth swallowed them. 13 “In Your lovingkindness You have led the people whom You have redeemed; In Your strength You have guided them to Your holy habitation. (NAU)
Revelation 5:9-10 9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. 10 “You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” (NAU)
Revelation 5:12-13 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.” 13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (NAU)
Psalm 68:3-4 3 But let the righteous be glad; let them exult before God; Yes, let them rejoice with gladness. 4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name… (NAU)
➽What should we praise God for?
➽Vs.3a #1 Praise God for His power “Great and marvelous are Your works”
Peter reminds believers that we exist to, 1 Peter 2:9 …proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (NAU)
David cried out: Psalm 139:14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. (NAU)
➽Vs.3b #2 Praise God for His plan “Righteous and true are Your ways”
Nothing will ever distract God from carrying out His plan to bring righteousness to His creation. Psalm 9:8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. (NAU)
➽Vs.4a #3 Praise God for His matchless purity “You alone are holy”
Psalm 96:4 For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods. (NAU) Psalm 96:9 Worship the Lord in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth. (NAU)
Psalm 29:2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name; Worship the Lord in holy array. (NAU)
➽Vs.4b #4 Praise God for His perfect actions “Your righteous acts”
God’s will is always right. God’s actions are always right.
Psalm 145:10-13 10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord, And Your godly ones shall bless You. 11 They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom And talk of Your power; 12 To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts And the glory of the majesty of Your kingdom. 13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, And Your dominion endures throughout all generations. (NAU)
There is coming a day when everyone will have to agree that Jesus Christ is right about everything! Philippians 2:9-10 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow… (NAU)
➽15:5-8 e. The display of God’s glory “temple was filled with…the glory of God”
Vs.5-7 Picture what is happening here. The “tabernacle of testimony” refers to the tent that Moses built in the wilderness where the Ark of the Covenant contained the Ten Commandments. This tabernacle is the real one that is in heaven. Moses’ tabernacle was a copy of the real thing: Hebrews 8:2 …the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man. (NAU)
God’s temple opens up and seven angels emerge. They are clothed in gleaming white garments with golden sashes across their chests which speak of their right to rule. Then one of the four living creatures (who represent all of God’s creation which we met in chapter four) approaches them and gives each of them a bowl full of God’s wrath. We learn what these bowls will do beginning in chapter 16.
Vs.8 Then smoke fills the temple that is behind these seven angels. Smoke is often associated with God’s presence in the Bible.
Exodus 40:34-35 34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (NAU)
1 Kings 8:10-11 10 It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. (NAU)
Isaiah 6:1-4 1 … I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple. 2 Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called out to another and said, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, The whole earth is full of His glory.” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: Each of us will drink from a cup that comes from the hands of Jesus Christ. During the Last Supper, Luke 22:17-20 17 …when He [Jesus] had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; 18 for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. (NAU)
If you do not open your heart to drink in the shed blood of Jesus Christ for your sins, then one day you will drink the cup of the wrath of Almighty God. Jeremiah 25:15 For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it. (NAU)
Hebrews 3:15 Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts… (NAU) Revelation 6:17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (NAU)
➽ “God hides unrighteousness with His righteousness,
➽He covers our disobedience with His obedience,
➽He shadows our death with His death,
➽that the wrath of God cannot find us." Henry Smith [5]
John 3:36 “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (NAU)
If Jesus suffered the wrath of God for you then how should you treat Him differently this week than you did last week?
[1]Palmer, E. F., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Vol. 35: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 35: 1, 2 & 3 John / Revelation. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (178). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
[2]As quoted by Bob Marcaurelle in “Suffering to Singing” p. 22
[3]From “Suffering to Singing” by Bob Marcaurelle p. 22
[4]"The Coming World Ruler" by David Mocking p.152
[5]Thomas, I. (1996). The golden treasury of Puritan quotations. Includes index of authors. General index created by Christian Clasics Foundation. (electronic ed.). Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation.
