The same is true
with this world that we inhabit. The designer, builder (i.e. the Creator), and
the remodeler can be seen for who he really is by looking at the finished
product. In other words, if we could gain a glimpse of what this world will be
like when it is fully restored in the future, we learn much about our God.
Such is what we
find in Revelation 15:1-4. This paragraph brings us to the last of seven
histories we find in the third cycle of visions in Revelation 6-20 that look at
this entire age starting with the first coming of Christ and culminating in the
second coming and the future full kingdom, that is, the new heaven and new
earth. More specifically, what we discover here is both an introduction to the
fourth cycle (the bowl judgments of 15:5-16:21) and also the seventh history concluding
this third cycle. We know it is the former since we find a similar opening in
15:1 (“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing….”) to the opening
of the third cycle in 12:1 (“And a great sign appeared in heaven”), and also we
are told explicitly that what follows is seven plagues or bowls in 15:1, 6;
16:2 (“seven angels with seven plagues…and out of the sanctuary came the seven
angels with the seven plagues…. So the first angel poured out his bowl….”).
Yet, this paragraph also follows a similar pattern to Rev. 8:1-5 where the
seventh seal is opened and out of it comes the seven trumpets, the trumpets are
introduced, then the seventh seal is described, before the first trumpet is
then introduced. The way this paragraph is put together both shows that the
seven bowls flow out of the seventh history (just like the seven trumpets flow
out of the seventh seal and the seven histories out of the seventh trumpet),
but even more important, there is a strong connection created between what we
see in this seventh history and the following seven plagues. We will see why
this connection is so important shortly.
Let’s come back
to the fact that this paragraph concludes the third cycle and brings us to the
point in God’s redemptive plan and history where we see the future culmination
of the kingdom, the new heaven and new earth. Here in this paragraph we are
given a vision of genuine believers in heaven (“those who had conquered the
beast and its image and the number of its name,” v. 2), who are not only in
heaven (“standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands,” v.
2), but who are moved to awe and praise by the completion of God’s saving plan
(“…great and amazing…. And they sing… ‘Great and amazing are your deeds, O
Lord…,” vv. 1, 3), i.e. by the finished
product of God’s salvation. In other words, what we read of here is similar to
a family being given the keys to their new home, moving in, and then our
listening in on their initial responses to the new home, responses that honor
the designer and builder.
As these saints
praise God for what he has accomplished, the net effect on the reader is
similar to what we read in Isaiah 40:9 where the Old Testament prophet calls
out to the people of God, before describing who and what God is like, “Behold
your God!” In the praise that makes up
this seventh history, what we glean is a picture of the glory of God seen
clearly in what is said.
With this in
mind, I want to encourage us as we behold our God and what he is like, based
upon the finished product of his salvation. In this passage, we see the
following six truths about God. Seeing these things about God and worshiping as
a result, have great and mighty ways of impacting how we live and of strengthening
our faith. Yet, they also are their own end since worship is our ultimate
purpose.
So, let me hand
you the keys to this glorious new heaven and new earth, this future full
kingdom, let’s step on inside, and let’s behold our God.
1. OUR GOD IS A GREAT DESIGNER WHO HAS PLANNED AND ACCOMPLISHED A
GLORIOUS PLAN OF SALVATION.
Let’s see how this first discovery emerges from
the text.
God Ordered Things The Way He Did Under The Old
Covenant So As To Prepare For The New Covenant And Beyond
Above we demonstrated the strong connection
between this seventh history and the seven bowl plagues to follow. Part of the
reason this is significant is because the bowl plagues are largely dependent
upon the plagues God brought upon Egypt that led to Israel’s deliverance. Given
this context and the fact that John sees “a sea of glass mingled with fire” (v.
2) and also believers singing “the song of Moses” (v. 3), leads us to
understand that Christ is describing the salvation he has accomplished and
which the saints are celebrating as the new and ultimate “exodus.” We discover
in Scripture that the exodus of Israel (Exodus 12:33ff.) forms a type of
salvation (Ps. 74; Is. 43:16-21; Hos. 11:1; Mich. 7:15-19) and thus the Old
Testament looks forward to a new and ultimate exodus (Book 4 of Psalms
[several]; Is. 40:3; 42:15-17; 48:21; 49:8f.; Zech. 10:6), which is fulfilled
in Jesus Christ (Luke 9:31). This seems to be the theme John is picking up on
here in Revelation 15.
This fits with what the New Testament affirms
about Old Testament events, namely that they were not only happening as God
genuinely dealt with his Old Covenant people, they also “took place as examples
for [New Covenant believers and]…were written down for our instruction [under
the New Covenant]” (1 Cor. 10:6, 11 [see also Rom. 15:4]). All that God did to
save Israel not only was addressing their needs but also prepared future
believers for understanding how God would deliver his people in the ultimate
way through Christ and what our ultimate deliverance would look like when he
comes again and we enter into the future full kingdom.
What an amazing wise God we have!
God Decreed The Events He Did (Including Sin,
Judgment, And Salvation) To Glorify Himself Through His Variegated Attributes.
Another way we see God’s wisdom in his saving plan
has to do with the display of his glory in his many attributes. In Romans 9:22-23
we gain insight into why God allowed sin when we read: “What if God, desiring
to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience
vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of
his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory….”
In other words, God’s grace and mercy are shown to be even that much more
glorious as they are contrasted with sin and judgment. This greater glory was
behind God’s decree that sin enter the world.
This same theme is present in the account of
Israel’s deliverance out of Egypt in the book of Exodus. God decreed the events
surrounding the exodus in the way he did (even including the hardening of the
Pharaoh’s heart to make the deliverance that much more spectacular) to glorify
himself that much more (Exodus 7:3; 11:9) and so to display his variegated
attributes. In Exodus 33:19; 34:5, 6-7 we discover that God made all his
goodness pass before Moses, thus clarifying his reputation (what he is like).
More specifically, what we find out is that the Lord is “a God merciful and
gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping
steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but
who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on
the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth
generation.” God highlights these various attributes that much more by the plan
he has for the world and its events.
To word this in another way, the Lord’s glory is
seen more fully when more of his attributes are displayed. We then see what he
is like to a greater degree.
We see this in Revelation 15:1-4 in this “great
and amazing” vision, one that displays both God’s wrath against sin (v. 1),
something also seen in the “sea of glass mingled with fire” (which reminds us
of the Red Sea, God’s judgment on opposition, see v. 2), and also his
salvation, which will be experienced by people from all ethnic groups
throughout the world (vv. 3-4: “O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O
Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and
worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”).
God Planned World Events Such That People From
All The Nations Will Worship Him.
As just seen in verses 3-4, though the entire
world rebelled against God and is lost, yet, the sense of his glorious power,
mercy, and grace will be magnified as more and more people, in all our variety,
will come to know and worship the true God through Christ.
God Displays His Righteousness.
In revealing through the saints’ praise of God
both his salvation and his judgment, we see that God’s “righteous acts have
been revealed” (v. 4). God’s righteous speaks of the reality that God always
operates in line with his character. On the one hand, God hates and judges sin.
On the other hand, God loves and saves sinners. This is why God is glorified
even to a greater degree (v. 4: “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your
name?”) through the manner in which he has ordered the world in a way that
people have sinned, face judgment for this, but also God displays his mercy and
grace in the salvation of sinners.
Paul makes the same point in Romans 3:21-26:
But now the righteousness
of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the
Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift,
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a
propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's
righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the
present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has
faith in Jesus. (emphasis added)
Similarly, we behold in that plan the following
about God.
2. OUR GOD IS GREAT AND
WORTHY OF BEING HONORED IN THE DISPLAY OF HIS MANY ATTRIBUTES REVEALED IN THIS
PLAN.
We should notice that we discover the following
attributes belong to God. He is: wrathful
against sin (1); gracious and merciful toward sinners (2-4); almighty and
sovereign (3); just (3); true (3); holy (4) and righteous (4). What is more,
these attributes lead us to see God as “great and amazing” (1), worthy of our
reverence and awe (4), as well as of our glorification and worship (4).
There is nothing that so glorifies God as
glimpses of the salvation of his people (cf. Exodus 15:1-21 and the original
song of Moses, as well as Ephesians 1:6, 12, 14) and this is seen to its
fullest when we see his future ultimate and eternal salvation as celebrated in
this text. What an amazing God we will especially see in that day (1, 3)!
3. OUR GOD IS GREAT IN
HIS ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGNTY.
The saints praise God in this vision for the
fact he is “almighty,” and “King of the nations” (3). Both descriptions remind
us that our God has control over all and can do all that he pleases, without
being limited by anything or anyone outside himself. This means that all God
has promised he can and will do.
4. OUR GOD IS GREAT IN
HIS JUSTICE.
This next way we behold God and his greatness is
especially precious since we lack justice so often in this current world. Justice
is that “virtue which consists in giving to everyone what is his due.”[1] If someone is poor and lacks basic necessities of life (material
needs, safety, etc.), as one made in God’s image, it is just to help him find
provision in ways that are wise and right; if someone is being denied his due
in judicial matters—whether because of lack of wealth or power—it is just to
rectify this and to give a person his due in a manner that looks at the situation
and recompenses in a manner that is blind to his place in life, influence, or
wealth, and deals only with what is right to do toward him. And what is right
should always be decided by what is righteous, i.e. the character of God as
displayed in his will.[2]
God will show that he is fully just. When this
present world is history and we enter into the world to come, it will be clear
to all that God has acted justly. In other words, no one will be denied
justice. In fact, all the saved will actually receive far better than what they
deserve because of his grace. Bottom-line, no sin and evil will be swept under
the rug as if unimportant. Every sin will receive God’s judgment, whether
poured out on unrepentant sinners or upon his Son in behalf of the elect.
The saints praise God for this!
5. OUR GOD IS GREAT IN
HIS TRUTHFULNESS.
When the future full kingdom is consummated and
salvation and judgment have been carried out, it will be seen beyond a doubt
that God does what he says. Of him we will say, “True are your ways” (v. 3).
After all, he is, “God who never lies” and who promised eternal life “before
the ages began” (Titus 1:2).
Like with justice, so with truth we will see it
as sweet because so often the truth is not told in this present age. Yet, a day
is coming when we will discover that our God and Savior embody truth (John
14:6)!
6. OUR GOD IS GREAT IN
HIS HOLINESS.
Finally, what we behold in our God is the fact
he is set apart to his own glory in all things and so will not violate that
ultimate end. This is the meaning of God’s holiness and we read of it in verse
4: “For you alone are holy.”
Holiness also suggests that God will always act
in a way becoming of and consistent with who he is and this will be true in all
his attributes. So, for example, though God is wrathful against sin, he will
not exercise that wrath in a manner that is not just or in a manner that
cancels out his mercy, grace, and love. Likewise, though God is love, he does
not love in a way that suggests sin or his own reputation are not important and
merely to be ignored.
CONCLUSION
Just like with the design and construction of a
house, so also with the world, world events, salvation, and judgment, when it
has all been completed we will see God’s greatness in ways that exceed what we
have previously seen.
To look ahead to this time not only deepens our
worship of him, but also strengthens our faith in him.
What encouragement!
Joyfully Beholding And Worshipping God With You,
Tom
[2]
For biblical background to justice and what it is, see Pss. Lev. 19:15; 72:1-4;
82:1-4; Prov. 17:15; 31:9; Rom. 3:26.
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