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The Voice of Hope - Heavenly Hallelujahs || Revelation 19:1-6 · WDAC Podcasts Homepage

• 0:00
  Speaker A: I now can sing Since I've been redeemed I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock I faith in Christ my Redeemer King I'm on the everlasting, everlasting rock Then row, row, pillows, row.
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  Speaker B: Hello and welcome to the Voice of Hope, a Bible teaching program that's produced by Heralds of Hope. I'm your host, Anthony High. In this episode, we're continuing our study through the Book of Revelation,
• 1:30
  Speaker A: Sam. Forever Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Sam.
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  Speaker B: Hallelujah. Did you ever wonder where that word comes from? Today we reach a moment of celebration in heaven and we learn how that word is used before today's teaching. I have exciting news about several upcoming events during the last week of October. We have several in person banquet and music events. Also, if you love to read, check out our upcoming readathon in December. Please visit our website@heraldsofhope.org events to learn more. Now join us As J. Mark Horst teaches From Revelation, chapter 19, verses 1 to 6 in the past,
• 5:35
  Speaker C: I was told that there are two words that are the same in every language across the Hallelujah and Coca Cola. And I can confirm that that's true, at least in the countries that I've traveled to. The first one demonstrates the power of God. The second one demonstrates the power of successful marketing. Hallelujah is a compound word. It's made up of two Hebrew words, Hallelu and Yah. Hallelu is an exhortation to praise someone or something addressed to more than one person. The Old English translation is Praise Ye, and it is accurate because it's plural. Yah is simply a shorter version of Yahweh, the English transliteration of the covenant name of Israel's God. And so when you say Hallelujah, you are issuing a command in ancient Hebrew, all of you must praise the Lord. Judaism teaches that God's name is too holy to be pronounced at all. Nor does anyone know how to pronounce it correctly because the original Hebrew didn't use vowels, and so most translators, whether they're Jewish or Christian, choose the word Lord instead. That's the translation of another Hebrew name for God, Adonai. Therefore, we say Praise the Lord. Further, Hallelujah and Alleluia are the same word. The Greek and Latin translations simply drop the h at the beginning. In the Hebrew Bible, what most of us call the Old Testament, there is a section of psalms that are labeled the Hallel Psalms, and they are frequently called the Egyptian Hallel because they celebrate God's redemption of the Israelites and their freedom from bondage in Egypt. Psalm 118 is one of the Hallel psalms, according to the Jewish sages. There are several fundamental themes that distinguish these Psalms that are part of the Hallelujah. And one of those distinguishing features is they acknowledge the source of salvation. Now we know that Psalm 118 was recited on the way to the Temple and also in the Temple on Passover Eve at the time when they were slaughtering the Passover sacrifice. And if you recall, the crowds at the triumphal entry during Jesus first coming, who cried hosanna, which means saved, now were reciting Psalm chapter 118, verses 25 and 26. So these words from Psalm 118 confirmed that Jesus entered Jerusalem as the ultimate sacrifice, as the Passover lamb, and it also recognized and acknowledged him as the source of salvation. I believe that you and I too should praise God daily for the gift of our salvation. Chapter 19, which we begin studying today, marks a dramatic change in the tone of Revelation. The destruction of Babylon, which was the capital of the beast's kingdom, marks the end of the great tribulation. And so we see the somber giving way to the song. The transfer is from darkness to light, from black to white, from dreary days of judgment to bright days of blessing and promise. This chapter marks a clear division in Revelation, and it ushers in the greatest event for this earth. That event is the second coming of Christ. This chapter bridges the great tribulation and the millennium. Our text for today is Revelation chapter 19 and verses 1 through 6. It's a prelude to the second coming of Jesus, and it contains a fourfold alleluia. Listen carefully now as I read those verses. Revelation 19:1 6. After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, alleluia. Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments, because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication. And he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her. And again they said, alleluia. Her smoke rises up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures fell down and worshipped God who sat on the throne, saying, amen, Alleluia. Then a voice came from the throne saying, praise our God all you his servants, and those who fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings saying Alleluia for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. This text contains a fourfold alleluia, with each acclamation highlighting God's salvation, His power, and his glory. Now you need to keep in mind that the opening verses of chapter 19 are giving us the response to the command in heaven from Revelation 18:20 that said, rejoice over Babylon, O heaven, and you holy apostles and prophets, for God has avenged you on her. The first hallelujah is for the judgment of the prostitute. In my introduction I spent a bit of time looking at the word alleluia. This word appears only four times in the entire New Testament, and every one of them are right here in this text. Anselm of Canterbury considered alleluia to be an angelic word. No human language could fully reproduce it. Augustine said that feeling it and saying it embody all the blessedness of heaven. It is the same word that appears in the most exultant and exuberant of the Hebrew Psalms. It is one of the highest acknowledgments and celebrations of God. Now, as we noted earlier, chapter 17 describes ecclesiastical or religious Babylon, while chapter 18 focuses on the city's political and commercial aspects. In the immediate Aftermath of chapter 18, John hears the loud voices of a multitude in heaven crying out alleluia. Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God. Now we're not told who the voices are that shout this acclamation of praise, but there are some clues. Some commentators take these to be angels. However, I would point out that the Scripture never uses the word aklas to describe a group of angels. More likely, these are the tribulation saints of Revelation, chapter 7, verses 9 and 10, which says this I looked and behold a great multitude which no one could number of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice saying, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb. Notice that salvation is part of both of these acclamations. And while the angels can acknowledge salvation, they can't experience it, so that limits their participation. And why do they shout in acclamation? Because true and righteous are his judgments. Because he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants that was shed by her. The great prostitute has had her day of wealth and popularity and pleasure. But now she is cast into eternal darkness. Once she was drunk with the blood of the saints she hated, and now it's her turn to be hated, stripped of her finery and burnt with fire. The next hallelujah is for the judgment of commercial Babylon. A second time. The multitude proclaims Alleluia. Her smoke rises forever and ever. The smoke of Babylon's burning was mentioned several times in chapter 18, and it keeps on rising forever and ever. Now obviously that can't refer to the city itself, but instead to the perpetual judgment on the people who engaged in her wickedness. The flames and smoke of that city will eventually die out, but the judgment on the souls of sinners is eternal. The destruction of the last and most powerful empire in human history marks the end of man's day. That rebellion that began so long ago in the Garden of Eden is finally ended, except for a futile, short lived revolt at the end of the millennium, which we'll come to in chapter 20, verses 7 to 10. Other than that, there will be no more false world religion, no worldly philosophy, injustice, no unrighteousness, all the sorry results of human depravity will be vanquished forever. This rejoicing over Babylon's destruction should remind us that the objects of the world's fondest love and delight are often the objects of God's most intense wrath. The things that men work for, the things they most diligently pursue, are some of the things which God judges most severely. The things that the wealthy and the powerful deplore, and the things they mock, are the things that call forth the loudest heavenly hallelujahs. As the writer of Hebrews expresses it. For God is not unjust to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints as you still do. Contrast this scene of the acrid smoke rising from the ruined, desolate city of Babylon with the cloud of fragrant smoke that rises with the prayers of the saints in Revelation 8:4. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. The next hallelujah is from those around the throne what the heavenly multitude so exultantly expresses the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures now feel, and they endorse it equally. They prostrate themselves before the throne in the most profound adoration and worship. While they proclaim Amen Alleluia. They are echoing the words of Psalm 146 and verse 8. Now Amen is a word that we're all familiar with. And that familiarity makes it easier for us to lose its true impact and its significance. From its first mention in numbers 522 until the very last word of the Book of Revelation, it is used as a special word of holy deference and and sacred endorsement. Indeed, it was a word constantly on the lips of our Savior Jesus Christ. Because wherever the text records Jesus saying verily, verily, or truly truly, the word is Amen. And it's also the word that Jesus taught us to use in closing our petitions to the Father when He gave us the model prayer, what we call the Lord's Prayer. Now, Amen isn't an oath, and yet it bears the force and the solemnity of one. It authenticates, it binds, it seals and pledges to the truth of that to which it is attached. It carries the worshiper's hearty consent to what has just been stated. And this is why, especially in group prayer, we must not let our minds wander, but we must pray along with the one who is leading the prayer. So at the end of the prayer, we can then say with full conviction, amen. In this scene, the elders and the living creatures have heard the triumphant celebration of God's salvation, His power and his glory that are being sounded forth by this heavenly multitude. This exaltation has so completely expressed their convictions and their emotions that what do they do? They make it their own, and they fall on their faces before the Almighty. Their Amen makes the previous alleluias their own, showing us that all heaven is of one mind and one soul. The fact that the 24 elders and the four living creatures are introduced as worshiping God in a way that's different from the great multitude seems to confirm my earlier suggestion that that the great multitude are made up of the martyred dead of the Great Tribulation. They are the ones who suffered immediately from Babylon's wickedness just before the second coming of Christ. If the 24 elders represent the church, then they are witnessing these events from heaven, even though they have not participated in quite the same way as those who went through the Tribulation. As John continued to watch and listen, he heard a voice from the throne. Now, we're not told the source of this voice. This is probably the voice of an angel rather than God's voice or the voice of the saints. The occasion for praising God is his judgment against wicked men who have oppressed God's people. Could it be that the source of this voice is the angel of his presence referred to in Isaiah chapter 63 and verse 9? At any rate, the voice authoritatively calls another group to join in the anthem of praise, saying, give praise to our God, all you his bondservants, you who fear him, the small and the Great. This all inclusive phrase of the small and the great, which we also by the way see in chapter 11, verse 18, transcends all human categories and distinctions. It embraces everyone. All the redeemed are called to praise God. The first two exclamations of Alleluia were voiced by the vast heavenly multitude. The third one, which was accompanied by the Amen is proclaimed by the elders and the living creatures. These first three focus on the exhibition of divine justice, truth and power in the judgment of Babylon and the avenging of the blood of the saints. However, as the multitude responds to this latest command, their praise seems to embrace everything that occurs in the latter part of this chapter and that leads us to the final alleluia that is the triumph of the Almighty. In the immediate aftermath of this authoritative voice from the throne admonishing all creation to join the alleluias, John heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying Alleluia. For the Lord God omnipotent reigns. This is a greater alleluia than any before, because those celebrated the singular victory over Babylon. That judgment showed God's might. But here his sovereignty is pictured as universal. The thundering roar of these voices proclaims Alleluia because the Lord God, the all ruler, has assumed the kingdom. This takes us back to the sounding of the seventh trumpet in Revelation, chapter 11, verses 15 through 19. There a great voice proclaimed the kingdom. And by the way that is singular, the kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. The kingdom of the world includes political sovereignty, kingly dominion, the governing authorities on the earth even as they are today. All of those delegated authorities and powers now pass into the hands of the Lamb and are no more. A supporting scripture of that would be 1 Corinthians 15:20, 28. Jesus taught us to pray for this kingdom in the model prayer. Yes, I do believe his instruction applies to his kingdom reigning in our hearts, enabling us to live in victory over the desires of the flesh and over the devil's temptations. But that is not the fullness of power and rule that we are witnessing here in our text. Isaiah prophesied of the Messiah that the government shall be upon his shoulder of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end upon the throne of David, and over his kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. And then, in Daniel's interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream and the image that he saw, it was revealed to him that in the days of these kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. That's Daniel 2:44. Now I could go on. I could cite additional passages, such as the announcement of Jesus birth to his mother Mary in Luke chapter 1 and verses 26 to 33 or the parable of the Minos in Luke chapter 191113 these sections of Scripture and many more confirm that the kingdom on earth will be literal, not just spiritual, in the hearts of men. We need to remember that when Adam was in Eden, before sin entered the picture, God was king, and only when the original theocracy is restored will the promised Peace of Isaiah 9:6 be realized. Mankind has had some 6000 years to experiment and to come to the conclusion that some forms of government are better than others, but even the best governments are tainted by the effects of sin. However, this kingdom, the kingdom of Christ, will come, as prophesied in Psalm chapter 72. He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing like showers that water the earth in his days. The righteous shall flourish, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth. Those who dwell in the wilderness will bow before him, and his enemies will lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring presents. The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts. Yes, all kings shall fall down before him, and all nations shall serve him. Are you anticipating this fulness of the coming kingdom? If you are, then join me in praise to the Lord. Amen.
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  Speaker B: Alleluia it's wonderful to stop and consider the praise that goes up to the Father, especially as we anticipate the kingdom of God coming in its fullness. If that's not your heart, we'd encourage you to open Revelation 19 for yourself and ask honestly, am I joining in the praise to God Almighty and not just with my words, but with my actions as well? If today's teaching has encouraged you, we'd love to hear from you. Your stories and responses mean so much to us As I mentioned in the beginning of the program, you can check out one of our upcoming events in Pennsylvania, Virginia and New York, as well as the readathon by contacting our Office or visiting heraldsofhope.org events. We do ask that you RSVP for any of the banquet events as soon as possible. As always, you can reach us by email@hopeheraldsofhope.org or by phone at 866-960-0292. To explore more Bible teaching and encouragement, visit heraldsofhope.org programs. You can also listen to and share the Voice of Hope wherever you get your podcasts. Join us the next time as we continue our journey through Scripture. And until then, may God's Word strengthen your faith and remind you that his work in the world is far from finished. Thank you for listening to the Voice of Hope.
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  Speaker A: Lord of Lords, King of Kings, you alone are worthy. All the earth and heavens sings praises to your name. Praise upon Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit, Everyone Praise the King of Glory. Praise him for eternity. Lamb of God, Righteous One, Holy unforgiving morning star, rising Sun, There is none like you. Praise the Father, Praise the Son. Praise the Spirit, Everyone Praise the King of Glory, Glory. Praise him for eternity. Praise the Father, Praise the Son. Praise the.