Sermon Tone Analysis

#. *The Vengeance of God*

*And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.* (15:2)

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In this remarkable vision, John *saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire.*

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The sea was not an actual ocean, because in 21:1 he “saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”

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What John saw was a transparent crystal platform before God’s throne, shimmering and glistening like a tranquil, sunlit sea.

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John saw this same sealike crystal platform in 4:6: “Before the throne there was something like a sea of glass, like crystal.”

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Moses also had a vision of it when he and the elders of Israel “saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself” (Ex.

24:10).

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Ezekiel described it as “something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal” (Ezek.

1:22).

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But the tranquil beauty of the *sea* was *mixed with* the *fire* of God’s judgment, which was about to be poured out on the earth.

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Those who reject God’s grace and mercy face “/a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries”/ (Heb.

10:27), because “/our God is a consuming fire”/ (Heb.

12:29).

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Fire is frequently associated in Scripture with God’s judgment (cf.

Num.

11:1; 16:35; Deut.

9:3; Pss.

50:3; 97:3; Isa.

66:15; 2 Thess.

1:7–9; 2 Pet.

3:7).

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John saw gathered around the throne of God *those who had been victorious over the beast.*

These are the believers redeemed during the Tribulation (6:9–11; 7:9–17; 12:11, 17; 14:1–5, 12–13).

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They will be *victorious over the beast* because of their undying faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 20:4–6 describes their resurrection and reward.

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In 13:7 it says of the beast (Antichrist), “It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them.”

But Antichrist’s triumph will be short-lived, and in the end the Tribulation saints will be granted triumph over him, prevailing under the pressure to which the world succumbed (cf.

13:4, 14–17; 14:9, 11; 19:20).

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Not only will the Tribulation saints triumph over the beast, but also over *his image and the number of his name.*

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The beast’s crony, the false prophet, will perform many lying wonders to deceive people.

One of them will be to set up an *image* of the beast, which he will order everyone to worship on pain of death

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The false prophet will also require everyone to receive a mark representing either the beast’s name, or *the number of his name.*

Those without that mark will face execution and will be unable to buy or sell

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But the Tribulation believers will, by God’s power, eternally triumph over the whole enterprise of Satan, the beast, and the false prophet.

Even those martyred for their triumphant faith will receive their glorious rewards (20:4).

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That the Tribulation saints are seen *holding harps of God* indicates that they are rejoicing and singing praise to God. *Harps* were also associated with praise earlier in Revelation (5:8; 14:2), as they are frequently in the Old Testament (cf. 2 Sam.

6:5; 1 Chron.

13:8; 15:16, 28; 2 Chron.

5:12–13; Neh.

12:27; Pss.

33:2; 71:22; 144:9; 150:3).

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These believers rejoice because their prayers for God to take vengeance on their persecutors (6:9–10) are about to be answered.

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The appearance of the Tribulation saints makes the point that God sends His wrath as an act of vengeance on those who mistreat His people.

Jesus warned:

/“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea./

/“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!

For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!/

/“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you.

It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”

(Matt.

18:6–10)/

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Unbelievers will be condemned to eternal hell for mistreating God’s people, because that mistreatment reveals their evil, impenitent hearts: /“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ” (Matt.

25:41–45)/

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The apostle Paul wrote/, “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord”/ (Rom.

12:19).

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The Old Testament likens persecuting God’s people to poking a finger in His eye (Zech.

2:8).

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The psalmist also wrote of God’s vengeance for His people:

/O Lord, God of vengeance,/

/God of vengeance, shine forth!/

/Rise up, O Judge of the earth,/

/Render recompense to the proud./

/How long shall the wicked, O Lord,/

/How long shall the wicked exult?/

/They pour forth words, they speak arrogantly;/

/All who do wickedness vaunt themselves./

/They crush Your people, O Lord,/

/And afflict Your heritage./

/They slay the widow and the stranger/

/And murder the orphans./

/They have said, “The Lord does not see,/

/Nor does the God of Jacob pay heed.”/

/Pay heed, you senseless among the people;/

/And when will you understand, stupid ones?/

/He who planted the ear, does He not hear?/

/He who formed the eye, does He not see?/

/He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,/

/Even He who teaches man knowledge?

…/

/They band themselves together against the life of the righteous/

/And condemn the innocent to death./

/But the Lord has been my stronghold,/

/And my God the rock of my refuge./

/He has brought back their wickedness upon them/

/And will destroy them in their evil;/

/The Lord our God will destroy them./

/(Ps.

94:1–10, 21–23/)

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The believers pictured here will have undergone the terrors of the Tribulation and suffered painful, violent deaths as martyrs.

Yet despite having endured the most intense persecution the world will ever know, their faith, which is a gift from God, will endure.

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Eventually, they will stand triumphantly before the throne of God, watching as God takes vengeance on their persecutors.

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*The Character of God*

#. *And they sang the song of Moses, the bond-servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,* */“Great and marvelous are Your works,/*

*/O Lord God, the Almighty;/*

*/Righteous and true are Your ways,/*

*/King of the nations!/*

*/Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify Your name?/*

*/For You alone are holy;/*

*/For all the nations will come and worship before You,/*

*/For Your righteous acts have been revealed.”/*

/(15:3–4)/

b.

The song sung by the glorified saints before the throne is an anthem of praise to God.

The ultimate motive of God’s wrath is His holy, righteous character, which demands that He judge sinners.

It is God’s holy nature, soon to be revealed in judgment against their persecutors, that elicits this song from the redeemed.

c.

The *song of Moses* is the first of several songs recorded in the Old Testament.

a.

The Israelites sang a song of praise when the Lord gave them water in the wilderness (Num.

21:17–18).

b.       Moses taught the children of Israel a song of remembrance shortly before his death (Deut.