Revelation 19
v. 6 And like a voice of a great crowd, and as the voice of great waters, and like the voice of powerful thunders, saying,
“Hallelujah!!! For the Lord God Almighty reigns! v. 7 Let’s rejoice and jump for joy and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself. v. 8 and she was given fine linen for clothing, bright and pure; the clean linen is the righteousnesses of the saints”
And he said to me, write “Blessed (o how happy) are those who have been invited to the marriage dinner of the Lamb”. And he says to me, “these are the true words of God”
v. 10 and I fell before the feet of him to worship him. And he says to me “Look, Don’t. I am your fellow servant and brother, having the testimony (witness) of Jesus. Worship God. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.
What do We Worship?
I love the story of Paganini, one of the greatest violinists in history. Maybe you’ve heard it. He was scheduled for a concert in New York, and, being one of the greatest violinists, had just purchased one of the greatest violins, a Stradivarius. Such instruments sell today for a millions of dollars. Newspapers advertised, articles were written, all looking forward to hearing the birdsong tones of the great instrument. On the day of the concert there was a buzz about seeing and hearing the Stradivarius. The Maestro came out on stage to rousing applause. He played a breathtaking concert. The audience was stunned and roused, in sublime contemplation and exalted jubilance as the master moved from soaring largo melodies to melismatic prestos. “What a lovely instrument” audience members whispered. “I’ve never heard such a magnificent violin”. More than half way through the concert, Paganini shocked everyone. He threw his violin on the floor, then proceeded to hop up and down on it, leaving a pile of rubble on the stage. Everyone sat in hushed silence. “Ladies and gentlemen” he said “I bought that fiddle down the street at a pawn shop for 5 dollars before the concert. Not a bad fiddle. Now I’d like you to hear my new Stradivarius”. He had made his point. Everyone was focused on the instrument, when the instrument is nothing. Even the most humble instrument can become sublime in the hands of a master.
We all are subject to this illness, the willingness to focus on the instrument rather than on the Master. Someone prays and we’re healed. Someone teaches and we are touched and transformed by the teaching. Someone speaks and we know the words are actually God speaking. And rather than turning to the Lord and worshiping Him, we give too much attention and credit to the vessel He used to bless us. As musicians we’re not immune to the other end of this equation. We can be caught up in the admiration and attention that is a natural part of our art. People come to us after a performance and tell us how wonderful and talented we are. We begin to believe and long for the adoring praise. But this is a trap. It is a distraction. If I sing well, and people are moved by the Spirit as a result, it’s not my spirit they were moved by. We are all given certain gifts so we can draw attention to our LORD. He alone is worthy of our praises.
Don’t get me wrong. It is one of our privileges as God’s people to love others-to give honor to whom honor is due (Romans 13:7), and to outdo one another in giving honor (Romans 12:10). Yet Jesus, the Son of God, did His work in such a way that people were praising God that He was doing such things among people (Luke 5:26 & 18:43, etc.). It’s not our job to impress people. This is a temptation, not a vocation. Our job is to do His work, whatever work He has called us to, in such a way that He gets attention and glory-so that people are drawn to Him. If we draw too much attention to ourselves, we’re likely to become like the pile of rubble on the stage of life.
Prayer
Father
You are so good!
Please, Lord, make me good too. And when people are drawn to Your goodness in me, let me be an instrument who draws attention to You, as Jesus did.
In His name,
Amen!
v 6 Almighty means, ruler of the universe.
v 7 Exceeding Glad Matt 5:12.
v 8 Righteousness Isaiah 59:17; Eph 6:14; Job 29:14; Psalm 132:9; Isaiah 61:10.
v 9 Blessed, the fourth of the seven beatitudes (1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 20:6; 22:7, 14)
v 10 Don’t! Acts 10:25; Matt 18:28-33; Heb 1:7, 14; Jn 20:26-28. Testimony 1:2, 5, 9; 3:14; 12:17. The spirit of prophecy is Jesus’ testimony, or testimony about Jesus. Either way, such testimony is the heart of prophecy. Most OT prophecy points to Jesus.
Revelation 19
v. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and, Look, a white horse, and the one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wars. And His eyes were a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns (diadem), having a name written which no one knows but He Himself. 13 and clothed in a garment dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 and the armies of heaven followed him on white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 and out of His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He can strike down the nations, and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron, and he walks the press of the wine of God Almighty’s wrath and anger. 16 and he has on His robe and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
King of Kings & Lord of Lords
Nimrod was hunter
His game was sons of men
His people built a tower
It’s in the rubbish bin
Nebuchadnezzar had
A five syllable name
But five centuries BC
Was the end of his fame
Alexander was smart
Aristotle’s student
But alcohol was stronger
He drowned in his vomit
He united through death
The king of Qin warred well
He called himself Shi Huangdi
And then he went to hell.
I’d talk of other kings
Bonaparte, César, Cyrus, Khan
Hitler, Stalin, Kim Jong Ill
The list goes on and on
All ruled in their kingdom
All built and blessed and killed
But all have this in common
They died when God had willed.
There is a King who’s reign
Is peace, joy, love, mercy,
Grace, truth, life, comfort, blessings
Songs, praise, celebration
The King who lived to teach
The King who died to save
The King who rose from the grave
And through His vict’ry gave
Eternal life to those
Who give their lives to Him
Crowns and thrones He gives to us
Victory over sin
To Him, the brightest Star
To Him, the greatest King
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Lift hands and voice and sing!
v 11 White horse 6:2. Faithful and True 3:14; 21:5; 22:6. Judge and War Isaiah 2:4; Micah 4:3.
v 12 Eyes of Fire see 1:14; 2:18. Crowns, diadem, each representing rulership over regions. Ptolemy wore two crowns to represent his rulership over Egypt and Asia. Name, YHVH? see Phil 2:9-11; Genesis 32:29; Judges 13:18.
v 13 Dipped in blood Is 63:1-6; rev 14:14-20. Concerning Gen 49:11 the Palestinian Targum states:
How beauteous is the King Messiah! Binding his loins and going forth to war against them that hate him, he will slay kings with princes, and make the rivers red with the blood of their slain . . . His garments will be dipped in blood and he himself like the juice of the winepress.
The Word Genesis 1:3, 7, 9, etc.; Numbers 22:18; Proverbs 30:5; Is 40:8; Matt 4:4, 7:13; Luke 4:4, 5:1, 8:11, 21; John 1:1, 14; Acts 4:31, 6:7; Ephesians 6:17; 2 Tim 2:9; Hebrews 4:12.
v 14 see vv 8, 15 and 21.
v 15 Sword 1:16, 2:12-16. rod see psalm 2 again. Wine see v 13 and 14:19-20.
v 16 King and Lord Deuteronomy 10:17; Dan 2:47; 1 Tim 6:15; Rev 17:14.
