Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

The Bible lists many things as reasons to Praise God.

Because of the Perfection of His Glorious Being.

Psalm 7:17

2.

He is to be Praised because of His Holiness

3.

He is to Praised because of His Mercy

4.

He is to bePraised for His Mighty Works

But of all the things to be prised for, perhaps the lest expected is the destruction of the wicked.

Now, as the long awaited time for the destruction of the wicked approaches, the scene turns from earth (where it has been since Chapter 6) to heaven.

The intervening chapters have detailed God’s cataclysmic explosion of judgmental fury on the sinful world.

That fury began to be poured out when the Lord Jesus Christ, the rightful heir to the universe, received the title deed to the earth from His Father (5:1–14).

As He unrolled that scroll and broke its seven seals, terrifying judgments struck the earth.

The seal judgments were followed by the equally devastating trumpet and bowl judgments.

Some might think heaven’s rejoicing over Babylon’s destruction to be insensitive and uncaring.

But that shortsighted view ignores the reality that those sinners will have had the greatest opportunity to repent of any people who have ever lived.

They will have experienced the unprecedented disasters of the Tribulation, which they will acknowledge to be God’s judgments (6:17).

They will also have heard the most powerful preaching of the gospel in history, from the 144,000 Jewish evangelists, the two witnesses, the host of the redeemed saved during the Tribulation, and even a powerful angel (14:6–7).

Yet despite all that, they will remain unrepentant to the very end (9:20–21; 16:9, 11), hardened into irreversible unbelief and defiant hatred of God.

The praise seen in heaven throughout Revelation (4:8–11; 5:9–14; 7:10–12; 11:15–18; 15:3–4; 16:5–6) reaches a crescendo in this text.

The heavenly rejoicing is not over the damnation of those who reject God (cf.

Ezek.

18:23, 32; 33:11), but because Jesus Christ will soon remove those obstinate sinners from the world.

God will then be properly honored, the Lord Jesus Christ enthroned, and the earth restored to its lost glory.

Heaven rejoices because history is finally going to reach its culmination as the true King establishes His kingdom on earth.

The first 10 verses of this chapter list five reasons why there is rejoicing in heaven and these are tremendous and we need to understand them.

A Complete Salvation

A Commendable Settlement

A Concluded Sedition

A Comprehensive Sovereignty

Ceremonious Spousal

I.

A Complete Salvation (vs. 1)

As always in the book of Revelation, when John uses the words “after these things”, he is referring to a new vision.

The vision takes place after the total destruction of Babylon (Chapters 17-18) and before the glorious return of Jesus Christ (19:11-21) to establish His Millennial Kingdom (20:1-10).

As the loud laments over the destruction of Babylon fade into the background, glorious praise erupts in heaven.

Now, the identity of the great voices that are heard in heaven are not given.

The assumption that one would make is that the eruption of glorious praise would be the redeemed saints.

But that does not seem to make sense here in this verse, since they are called to join in the praise in verses 5-8.

It would not make much sense to call someone in on the praise who is already praising.

So I do not believe that in verse one the ones that are erupting this praise are the redeemed saints.

These great voices that we see here are most likely the angels.

The countless millions of angels erupt in a majestic chorus.

The angels open the all important word, “Hallelujah”.

It is the Greek word, “ἁλληλουϊά” and means “Praise Yahweh”.

In the English we would call this word an “Interjection”, a word or a phrase used in exclamation, a word used to express emotion.

In the Greek, this is called an “Emphatic Particle”.

And all an “Emphatic Particle” does is to express the intensity of the emotion.

When these angels in heaven exclaim, “Hallelujah” I can just envision the gates of Hades quaking at the sound of that name.

And it is the same whenever one of God’s people say, “Hallelujah”.

the gates of Hades shake.

Why?

Because of what the word means.

When these angels say (and when we say) “Hallelujah” we are saying, “Praise Yahweh”.

And it is the “Yahweh” that is so important.

It is the proper name for God.

That means that it is exclusively used only to refer to the one and only true God.

The false gods of the Canaanites or the Egyptians, may have been referred to by the name “the gods” but they were never called “Yahweh”.

This term appears as the name for God in every book of the OT, except for the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes and Esther.

Many of the names of God contain the term “Yahweh”.

יְהוָה יִרְאֶה

“Yahweh Provides”

יְהוָה רֹפְאֶךָ

“Yahweh who heals you”

יְהוָה נִסִּי

“Yahweh is my Banner”

יְהוָה מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם

“Yahweh who Sanctifies you”

יְהוָה שָׁלוֹם

“Yahweh is Peace”

In Jewish practice since at least the first century, the four consonants that make up the divine name have been considered sacred and were never pronounced.

To keep the reader from pronouncing and thus profaning the sacred name of God, the Masoretes put the vowel pointing for אֲדֹנָי (ʾădōnāy, “Lord”) under the consonants of the divine name יְהוָה (yhwh) to prompt the reader to pronounce אֲדֹנָי (ʾădōnāy) in place of the divine name wherever it appears in the text.

What makes this name so sacred and precious and why I believe the Gates of Hades shake at the sound of it?

Because it is the personal name of God.

We do not have the habit of referring to God as “Yahweh” but we usually use the term “Jehovah”.

And, again, because of the placement of the marking on the vowels we also use the term “Adonai” which means, “lord, master, one is given a place of authority”.

But here is the kicker and why this is such a sacred name.

This name is used with an emphasis on His relationship with His covenant people.

Every time that Satan hears the name “Yahweh” he is reminded that God has a covenant relationship with people that no matter that he does, cannot be broken.

When the angels exclaim “Hallelujah” it is reminder of the covenant relationship of God to His people.

Heaven rejoices specifically because salvation has come for God’s people, and with it the glory and power that belong to God (cf. 1 Chron.

29:11) have been put on display.

The word salvation does not focus on justification or sanctification, but celebrates the final aspect of salvation history, the glorification of the saints in the kingdom of Christ.

The imminent coming of Jesus Christ prompts this praise as the angels anticipate the glory of His kingdom.

II.

A Commendable Settlement (vs.

2)

Heaven also rejoices because God’s judgments are true and righteous (cf.

16:7), as evidenced by the destruction of wicked, deserving Babylon.

That joy over the imminent triumph of God’s justice is something that all who pray and work for righteousness can relate to.

Throughout history God’s people have been disturbed by the inequity, injustice, and unrighteousness in the world, and have longed for God’s justice to come.

Anticipating the coming of the Messiah, Isaiah wrote:

Jeremiah also anticipated the time when Messiah would bring justice and righteousness to the earth.

Then there are the Tribulation Saints, whose also long for the time when Yahweh will judge the unrighteous.

Like Isaiah and Jeremiah, they eagerly anticipated the day when God’s justice would triumph.

God’s people hate sin because it mocks God and love righteousness because it exalts Him.

They long for a world characterized by holiness and justice.

But that will only happen when Christ establishes His righteous kingdom and rules with a rod of iron

The angel reminded John that Yahweh judged Babylon for two reasons.

Because she corrupted the earth with her immorality.

The system of AntiChrist (Babylon) seduced the world into believing the lie of Satan.

And because that system ruled the whole world, it is guilty of corrupting the whole world.

The evil of the commercial and religious Babylon will be pervasive and dominant, leading to equitable retribution from God.

2. Because of her mistreatment of God’s people

It is both fitting and just that those who caused the moral ruin of the world and persecuted God’s people should face His vengeance.

III.

A Concluded Sedition (vs. 3)