A Worship Clinic on the Cusp of Christ's Coming

Well, let me invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation chapter 19, Revelation 19 for our time of study in God's word, this morning. you'll find this text even on the hard copy that has the worship lyrics on it. Or on the, the document that you've been using. On your cell phone.

for the worship lyrics. but we are doing a verse by verse study through the book of Revelation, and as we continue in our study of this book, we come this morning to Revelation 19, verse 1. My goal this morning is to cover verses 1 through 10, and the title of the message this morning is a worship clinic on the cusp of Christ's Coming, a worship clinic on the cusp of Christ's coming. many times when you're watching.

A sporting event like a basketball game, for example, the network that is airing the game, will show replays of an important shot from various, angles, and this is especially true for something like the game winning shot at the buzzer. Not only will they show replays of the shot itself. But they will also show replays of the coaches reactions, along with the reaction of different players on both teams, showing the utter dismay of the defeated team and the unbridled joy of the team whose player made the game-winning shot.

And that's a little bit of how it is in Revelation chapter 18 and in our passage today.

Last week we looked at Revelation 18, which is a vision of the future. When Babylon the Great, which represents the world system, is judged by God at the end of the age, just prior to when Christ returns from heaven to earth. But we also witnessed the response of the kings and the merchants of the earth to Babylon's fall. The kings of the earth weep and lament.

And in verses 9 and 10, they say, whoa, whoa, the great city Babylon, the strong city, for in 1 hour your judgment has come. In verses 16 and 17 of Revelation 18, the merchants of the earth weep and mourn, saying, Whoa, whoa, the great city, for in 1 hour such great wealth has been laid waste. And in verse 19 of Revelation 18, we saw all those who made their living by the sea, throwing dust on their heads and crying, whoa, whoa, the great city, for in 1 hour she has been laid waste.

That's how the kings and the merchants of the earth respond to the destruction of the world system as it will exist in a future day.

And in our passage today, we're going to get to see how heaven responds. Which is actually quite unusual by New Testament standards when we observe heaven's response. In fact, if you started reading the New Testament from Matthew chapter 1 verse 1, all the way through the New Testament up through Revelation 18. You would not see the word hallelujah even one time.

But in our passage today, we will encounter this word 4 times. The word hallelujah. is actually a command in the Hebrew. It's Hallelu, which is the command to praise.

And then Yah, which is short for Yahweh or Jehovah. So hallelujah means praise Jehovah. Praise God whose name is Jehovah. The word hallelujah shows up 24 times in the Psalms and only 4 times in the New Testament, and all 4 occurrences of this word in the New Testament are found clustered in the passage that we're going to be looking at.

Today, a passage that is all about worship. So in Revelation 18, we have 3 woes of sorrow over Babylon's fall, and in Revelation 19, we have 4 hallelujahs of joy in what amounts to one of the greatest scenes of worship that we find anywhere in the Bible. Our passage today contains various calls to worship. It gives us examples of worship rightly done, and it even features an example.

Of worship wrongly done. And then properly corrected in a Christ-centered way. So if you wanna learn about the subject of worship, you should look at this passage and watch. Heaven's inhabitants as they put on a clinic.

For us this morning and may God mark us all by what we see in the text today. The way we're gonna break down our study of this passage is we will observe 4 acts or 5 acts, I'm sorry, 5 acts of heavenly worship after Babylon the Great falls under God's judgment, 5 acts of worship. And the first Is this heavenly saints celebrate. God's righteous judgment of Babylon.

Heavenly saints celebrate God's righteous judgment of Babylon. Listen to what John hears after he witnesses the fall of Babylon. Verse one, after these things, I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, hallelujah, salvation. And glory and power belong to our God.

Who is this great multitude in heaven? Well, John uses this exact expression back in chapter 7, verse 9 to speak of a great multitude from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues. And helping us further to identify this great multitude back in Revelation 18:20. A voice from heaven speaks about Babylon's judgment and says, rejoice over her, oh heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her, speaking of his judgment of Babylon.

So what we're seeing here in Revelation 19:1 is the response of these glorified saints. To this call to worship and rejoice as they all speak with the text says a loud voice singular. Meaning a single unified voice and what they're all saying is hallelujah. Which means praise Jehovah.

If there is one thing that characterizes heaven. It is complete unity. Around the worship and praise of God. There aren't some people in heaven who are saying praise Jehovah for the salvation that he has given.

And then others who are saying praise me for all the good things I did to get myself here. No, heaven is totally unified with one voice that gives all the praise to Jehovah alone. So if you're not interested in giving God the glory and the praise. Heaven is really not a place where you wanna be.

But if that is what you are interested in, heaven is the greatest place to be. This great multitude also says, look at the text, salvation and glory and power belong to our God. They understand that God is the one who gives salvation, and they understand that his destruction of Babylon is part of the salvation that God is accomplishing for his saints as he rids the world of Babylon. So as to make the earth suitable for his people now to dwell.

But these saints are also grateful for the salvation that God has given to them from their sins. Every one of these glorified saints were once sinners condemned under God's righteous law. But they believed in Christ who died for their sins at the cross, and God has saved them. And they're not applauding themselves here for saving themselves, but they're giving God all the glory for saving them, saying salvation and glory and power belong to our God.

The wonderful thing about what these heavenly saints are. Saying in this exclamation is that God has given to them each of the things that they're listing here. God has given them salvation, he has given them glory, he has given them power like they could not have imagined when they were on earth, and here they are wanting it all to belong to him. This is the eternal dance of heaven.

God lavishes His salvation blessings and glory and honor on His saints forever in heaven, and they respond by expressing their heart's desire to happily lay it all at His feet and give Him all of the glory. This great heavenly multitude continues their worship. In verse 2, why are they saying hallelujah and wanting Jehovah to be praised? Look at verse 2.

They say, because his judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot, that's Babylon, who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his bond servants on her. Keep in mind that there are hundreds of thousands of these saints who have been abused and killed by Babylon for their faith in Jesus Christ. We've already learned about that thus far in the book of Revelation, and now they're looking upon God's judgment of Babylon.

And feeling this wonderful sense of relief and joy and celebrating God's judgments as being, look at the text, true and righteous.

None of them are thinking that God's judgments upon Babylon are too harsh, nor are any of them thinking that his judgments are too lenient. In their minds, God has given Babylon a perfect justice for how she corrupted the earth with her immorality and for how he has avenged their deaths. Upon Babylon. God cares very much about.

How his people. Are treated And he will have his vengeance on anyone who drops a single drop of blood from any one of his precious saints. Or wrongs them in any way and this is why you and I don't ever need to retaliate with evil for evil. And take vengeance when somebody wrongs us because vengeance, God says, belongs to him.

And he will execute. That vengeance. So perfectly that we will one day be shouting hallelujah. At the job of justice that he has done.

And this frees up All of us, when we are wrong, to be kind and gracious, knowing that God will take care of the justice part, perfectly. Speaking of Babylon, this heavenly multitude looks upon the smoldering ruins of Babylon, and in verse 3, John says, and a second time they said, hallelujah, praise Jehovah. Her smoke rises up forever and ever. And saying what they are saying here, they're celebrating the fact that Babylon is destroyed, never, ever to rise again at any point throughout the rest of eternity.

The language used here also indicates the awareness that these saints have. That the physical judgment of the city of Babylon itself. Will also include eternal judgment forever and ever upon those who lived according to Babylon's ways. Well, so far, John has been describing for us the worship of this great multitude of saints in heaven.

But observe what he sees and hears coming from closer to the throne of God in verse 4, and this brings us to the second. Act of heavenly worship after Babylon the Great falls under God's judgment. Number 2, the four living creatures. And the 24 elders, I love these guys, the 4 living creatures and the 24 elders worship God for His righteous judgment.

You'll recall from Revelation chapter 4 that around the throne of God in heaven are 4 living creatures that John describes back in chapter 4, and then there are 24 elders that are seated on thrones around the throne of God. And we see these 4 living creatures and these 24 elders showing up for a final time here. In verse 4, and the text says, and the 24 elders and the 4 living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, amen. Hallelujah.

They're going to say amen. To God's judgment of Babylon. And amen to the words that this heavenly multitude of saints have just uttered, and they will express their agreement with this heavenly multitude by saying yes, hallelujah, praise Jehovah. They're joining the saints and worshiping God for the truth and righteousness of God's judgment upon Babylon.

This is the last time that we're going to see these. 24 elders in the book of Revelation, and this is a great final view of them. When we met these elders back in chapter 4, we understood these elders to be glorified saints from the church age. Who have been given great authority and dominion by God in heaven.

Where he's given them thrones to sit upon. Yet we have observed that these elders. And every case where they are mentioned seemed to have a lot of trouble. Staying upright And staying seated on their thrones because they keep falling down every time we see them.

In Revelation 4 verses 10 and 11, we're told that. The 24 elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne and will worship Him. In Revelation 5:8, we're told that when Jesus had taken the book of human destiny, quote, the 24 elders fell down before the lamb. In Revelation 11:16, we read that.

And I quote, the 24 elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God. And now here we see that in response to the worship of this heavenly multitude. They fell down. Together with the four living creatures and worship God who sits on the throne saying amen.

Hallelujah These elders can't seem to stay on their thrones, that God has prepared for them. They have thrones that God has given to them to sit on, yet they keep sliding off these thrones and falling on their faces to worship God. They've been given glorified feet to stand on, but they can't seem to stay on their glorified feet, but keep falling to the ground and worshiping God. That has just captivated my heart.

As we've studied through revelation, observing their behavior. Most of who Johnny Erickson Tata is. 54 years ago, she broke her neck in a diving accident at the age of 17. And has been largely paralyzed from the neck down ever since.

After a great struggle in her soul, she learned to trust God in her brokenness, and she has been living for Christ, going gangbusters for him over the last 54 years. Some time ago, she was asked the question. Regarding what she most looks forward to doing when she gets to heaven and has a glorified body that can run and walk and dance and jump. And she said these words.

That only a mature Christian, I think can understand. Listen to what she said. I don't know how it's all going to fit. But right before the wedding supper and the guests are called in, right before we get started with the feast.

I want To be able To kneel At the Lord's feet And give him Paralyzed praise. Although I'll be able to enjoy my glorified new body, which will be an amazing gift. To suddenly drop to my knees and not move. When it is my joy and right to move.

Will be my joy. And sacrifice. To him. I'll give you a whole week to think on that.

It's exactly the way these 24 elders are every time we see them in heaven, as they keep falling from their God-given thrones to worship God, and for them to keep falling from their thrones in the book of Revelation must mean that someone keeps putting them back. And setting them back on their thrones, and I think it's God who keeps putting them back. On their thrones and saying to them, I love your worship of me. But sit on these thrones of dominion that I have prepared for you, and he sits them back on their thrones, and it's not long before they're falling off these God-given thrones again to worship him, almost as if it's too much for them.

You and I, we, we love our thrones, don't we? These 24 elders have come to love God so much. That they are more than happy to leave their thrones vacant. In order to worship him.

These 24 elders together with the 4 living creatures, they're joining here the multitude of saints in heaven and shouting hallelujah and worshiping God. So far the worship has gone from the heavenly multitude. To these elders and 4 living creatures around God's throne, and it seems that they are now gonna send it back. Out to the heavenly multitude and this brings us to the 3rd act of heavenly worship after Babylon the Great falls under God's judgment.

3, heaven's inhabitants rejoice in the reign of God. Heaven's inhabitants rejoice in the reign of God. Observe what John Here's in verse 5, and a voice came from the throne. Saying Give praise to our God, all you, His bond servants, you who fear Him, the small.

And the great Now, we don't know whose voice this is that's coming out from the throne, but we know that it can't be God's voice, right? Because it says, give praise to our God. So the speaker must be someone who is not God, yet who is in the vicinity of the throne of God, which means it is likely coming from one of the 4 living creatures or one of the 24 elders. As for who this voice is delivering this call of worship to, there are 3 descriptions given.

This voice is speaking to God's bond servants or slaves. Which we are, who have believed in Christ. It is speaking to God-fearers. Those whose hearts are seized with awe and wonder at God, and this voice is also speaking to.

I love this, the small and the great. The small and the great, which means that this call to worship is going out to those who are the greatest in the kingdom of God, all the way down to the least in the kingdom of God. Those who were exceptionally gifted by the spirit on earth and those saints whose gifts were comparatively small. This multitude That's being called to worship right here, will include those who were spiritual giants upon the earth, and it will include those Christians who were sadly immature, and who may have even died under God's discipline and who were saved, yet so is through fire.

This call to worship even goes out to the thief on the cross and others like him who were saved just before they died. And all of them are now glorified in heaven, and this voice is calling all of them to worship and give praise to God. The small and the great evidently in heaven, God doesn't just want to hear from the great, but he also wants to hear from the small. We all in heaven will have equal opportunity in a moment like this.

To praise the Lord and give glory to Him. How did the inhabitants of heaven respond to this call to worship? All they needed obviously is to just hear the word and. And what happens next is amazing.

They respond with a roar, the likes of which the apostle John had never heard. And he could practically feel the concussion of their sound in his body. Observe what he hears in verse 6. He says, then I heard something.

Like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder saying hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. John makes 3 attempts here to describe. What the voice of these worshippers sound like in heaven. It's like the voice of a great multitude.

Like the sound of many waters that would be crashing against the rocks. And he says it sounded like the sound of mighty peals of thunder. In other words, it's really loud. Really loud.

And what they say is hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty. Rains Praise Jehovah, they're shouting. And the reason is because the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. The reference here to God as the Almighty speaks of God as the one with absolute power and authority to do as he pleases.

Whenever he pleases, however he pleases, and there is no one that can hinder him in any way, shape or form from doing. Anything he wants to do whenever and however he wants to do it, and the joy of this heavenly multitude is in the fact. That this one, this God is their God, and he reigns supreme. This is the heart of true saints of God.

They rejoice in the reign of God. Rather than begrudging him his reign. so many people nowadays. They're not fans of the reign of God.

They rebel against the reign of God and do the opposite of anything God tells them to do, and they want the right to create their own truth and define their own way. They want ultimately personal reign or personal sovereignty for themselves. They want to reign over their own lives, they rejoice in their own reign. And that's what they want rather than to allow God to reign over them, and what we are left with is a society full of little sovereigns.

Trying their hand at personal sovereignty. And we have an incredibly peaceful society full of happy people as a result, right? Wrong. In recent years.

A French Psychiatrist named Alan Ehrenberg has been. Doesn't know the Lord. Not a Christian, writer at all, but he's been writing about the unique anxieties of individuals living in the modern world, and he, he wrote a book back in 2016 entitled The Weariness of the Self. And he talks in that book how people nowadays want to be completely autonomous.

To be their own creators, to make up their own rules. And live after their own desires. And he says, and as they do that, I quote. It's not long before the self-creating person turns out to be fragile.

And weary of their sovereignty. And full of complaints. He goes on to say that in many cases depression, not always, but in many cases he says depression. Is the inevitable, and I quote, counterpart of the human being who is his or her own sovereign, unquote.

Depression. In his thinking Is often the result. Of what he calls sovereignty fatigue. So think about that.

Here's a completely secular observer making the observation. That part of the reason many people are so fragile and depressed and anxious nowadays. Is because they're worn out from the task. Of playing the sovereign in their own life, they want sovereignty so much, even though it is killing them.

But these inhabitants of heaven here in Revelation 19 are actually showing us a better way and look at their joy. These heavenly saints will never experience sovereignty fatigue. Because they have given all sovereignty to God. They're delighted to let God reign.

And their own experience with God in heaven shows. Them and shows all of us that when, when we yield sovereignty to God and allow him to reign, God is always far better to us. Than we would have ever been to ourselves. If we were left in charge.

And the greatest joy of this multitude in heaven. Is that God reigns over them. And that he reigns over all, and their greatest joy is to see now. In the flow of events and revelation to see God's kingdom reign in the process of coming to earth, just as it is in heaven.

Heaven is a place for those who. Love and rejoice in the reign of God over them. And if you don't like the reign of God over you, heaven is not a place where you want to be. This vibrant scene of heavenly worship is not over though.

In the first part of our passage, the inhabitants of heaven are looking back and praising God for judging Babylon. Then we see them rejoicing in the present reality that God reigns, but now we're gonna see them rejoicing in something that is about to happen, and this brings us to the 4th act of worship after Babylon the Great falls under. God's judgment. Number 4, heaven's inhabitants rejoice in the marriage.

Of the lamb and his bride. Heaven's inhabitants rejoice in the marriage of the lamb and his bride. Listen to what John hears this heavenly multitude saying in verse 7. They say, let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready.

Let us rejoice, be glad, give glory to God. That's what this heavenly multitude wants to do. Because God is the one who deserves all the glory for this, because he's the one who brought it to pass. And what has he brought to pass?

The marriage of the lamb. Who is the lamb? Jesus Who died on the cross as a lamb for our sins, who is his bride? You guys tell me The church.

The church. John doesn't bother identifying the church as the bride. Of Christ here. I think John leaves this unstated because he knew that his readers knew.

Remember, one of the 7 churches is the Church of Ephesus. To whom Paul wrote years prior and told them. Who is the bride of Christ. You can jot these references down in Ephesians 5:31, Paul quotes from way back in Genesis 2:24, where it says, for this reason, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

And then Paul says in the very next verse in Ephesians 5:32, this mystery is great, but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church. And this is why Paul, a few verses earlier in Ephesians 5, commands wives to relate to their husbands the way that the church relates to Christ. This is why Paul commands husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for the church. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 5 verses 26 and 27.

That Christ loved the church and died for her. Laying down his life for her and listen to what he says beginning in Ephesians 5:26, so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present to himself, the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. That's the moment of presentation. Where the church is the bride of Christ is presented to Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians 11. Verse 2, Paul is speaking to a pretty messed up church full of much brokenness, the Corinthian church. And he says to them, for I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy, for I betrothed you to one husband so that I might present you to Christ as a pure virgin. You see the relationship of the church to Jesus Christ.

Is not just like. A marriage relationship, it's the ultimate. Marriage relationship. And our earthly marriages that many of us enjoy are simply junior varsity relationships that are designed to point to and display the glory of this ultimate marriage between Christ and the church.

Despite what the Hallmark movies will tell you. Our earthly marriages, and trust me, I watch a lot of these with my wife. Despite what these Hallmark movies will tell you, our earthly marriages are not where the happily ever after happens. It's when you believe in Jesus.

And become a part of his bride, that's when your happily ever after begins. And it really begins in this moment that we're seeing in our passage today. In Revelation 19:7, where the marriage. The betrothal period is over, and now the marriage between Christ and the church really commences.

Let us rejoice verse 7 and be glad and give the glory to Him the multitude thunders, for the marriage of the lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Hearing these words, John evidently turns to look at the bride, and he, he writes about her readiness for the wedding feast and says in verse 8, It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. He notices how the church is attired here. The church clothes herself in fine linen that is bright and clean, and the Greek word that is translated bright here is the word we get our English word lamp from.

These clothes that the church is adorned with shine like a lamp and are perfectly clean without the slightest stain. right now, Cornerstone is a beautiful church. I can't think of anywhere else I would rather be than with you as a congregation, but there's still a lot of brokenness and sin, in me and in all of us, right? But in this day.

We will be perfect. Totally clean and bright and no sin at all. It's interesting to note how the church is adorned here, especially if you compare her adornment. Back to the great harlot of chapter 17.

We saw in chapter 17 that the great harlot is clothed in scarlet and purple. And literally made golden with golden. Jewelry and precious stones and pearls, but here Christ's bride. I actually said to have none of these things because evidently she needs none when glorified to perfection by Christ, the church needs no jewelry to make herself more beautiful.

All we're told here is that it was given to her to be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean. And that's it, which tells us something about the simple taste. Of Jesus In terms of how he prefers for his bride to be adorned. And even more revealing along these lines, we're told in verse 8 what the fine linen is.

At the end of verse 8, the text says, for the fine linen is the righteous acts. Of the saints. This would speak of the righteous acts that the saints of God in the church of Jesus Christ performed when they were on earth. Every time they said no to sin and yes to righteousness, every time they repented of sins that they committed, every good deed that they did for others, and these righteous acts now serve as the church's attire in heaven.

This adornment is said to be bright and clean, not because the work. Of the saints on Earth was perfect. But because those works by now have been perfected and sprinkled clean. By the blood of Jesus that was shed at the cross.

Where did the Saints And thus the church get these righteous acts to perform and now be clothed with. Notice the wording of verse eight, where it says, let's read it again, it was given to her. To clothe herself in fine linen bright and clean for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. In other words, the church did not produce these righteous acts on her own.

God saved people out of their sin and gave them the power to do these righteous acts that God prepared beforehand for them to engage in and here we read that it was given to the church by God to perform these righteous acts. And now to clothe herself. With them as she enters into the fullness. Of her marriage to Christ.

And so God gets all of the glory for this. This is why the saints in heaven, every time we see them, are giving all the glory to God. Well, John is absolutely mesmerized. Right now, he's so taken it seems by what he is beholding that he needs to be reminded that he's got some writing to do.

Observe what happens in verse 9. Then he said to me, Right Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb, and he said to me, these are true words of God. It's a small challenge to figure out who is speaking to John here in verse 9, but the speaker here. Is almost certainly the angel who began speaking to him back in the beginning of Revelation 17 showing him the visions of Revelation 17 and 18 and even the visions he's beholding now and occasionally giving John the interpretation of what it was that he was seeing and this very angel now is saying to John, right, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.

That statement right there ought to arrest our attention. Because think about what this angel means when he speaks of those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb. The bride doesn't normally get an invitation to her own wedding, right? So this isn't speaking in all likelihood of the church, the bride of Christ, it's the guest.

Who come to behold the wedding, who get the invitation. So if the church is the bride of Christ, then those who are invited to this wedding party are saints of God. Who are not a part of the bride of Christ. But they are invited guests.

This no doubt would include Old Testament saints. Who were saved by God's grace prior to the church age, and it would include tribulation saints. Who were saved during the tribulation period after the churches raptured from the earth. It would include Old Testament saints listed in the hall of faith, in Hebrews chapter 11, people like Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.

This would include John the Baptist. Who thought of himself as the friend of the bridegroom back in John chapter 3 verse 29. And some might look at this and think that such saints would be jealous to attend a wedding where they're not the bride, but none of them will be complaining. This voice says to John, blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.

All who are invited to join in the celebration of the lamb. His marriage to the bride will feel sufficiently blessed to be invited, they will be full of joy, and this voice tells John to write these words of blessedness down for those invited, and then he says, these are true words of God. In other words, it is a true word from God. To say that all who are invited to the marriage supper of the lamb.

are truly blessed. It's actually hard to lock down when and where this marriage supper of the lamb will take place. on the prophetic calendar, some commentators have it happening, after the rapture, after the church has gone through the judgment seat of Christ, others place it after the destruction of Babylon. And before Christ returns to the earth, which happens later in this chapter, others, even dispensational commentators have this wedding feast happening during or even throughout the full length of the millennium.

Whenever and however this wedding feast happens, it's gonna be wonderful for the bride, for all of us. And for all who are invited, wedding feasts in Bible times started on the evening of the wedding and lasted many days thereafter. And that seems to be the picture here. This is not just one feast.

Whenever this feast takes place, it will be an extended one that will last. For some time And involve many gatherings. Well, John is so overwhelmed by what he is seeing and hearing that he We're gonna see seems to be overtaken with gratefulness toward the angelic interpreter who is allowing him the privilege of witnessing these amazing things which causes John to do something that's very surprising, which in itself forces this angel to instruct John regarding worship and this brings us to the final act.

Of heavenly worship after Babylon the Great falls under God's judgment.

Number 5, an angel challenges John to worship God alone. An angel challenges John to worship God alone. This angel has told John to write something down. But how does John respond?

Observe what he does in verse 10. John is speaking. And this is not what any of us would have expected. Then I fell at his feet.

To worship him The angel who was just speaking to him. And we're left to ponder why. Why does John turn and worship this angel? Well, there's nothing said here about.

The appearance of this angel that is speaking to John, so it doesn't seem to be the appearance of the angel that is overwhelming John and causing John to fall at his feet to worship him. My guess is that John is overwhelmed with gratefulness. For the revelations that the angel has mediated to him to such an extent that his gratefulness. Turns into worship.

This angel has ushered John into the visions that John has seen beginning in Revelation 17 and forward. He's interpreted what John has seen and helped him to understand. He's shown John the fall of the world system. All the way to the joy of heaven over the marriage supper of the lamb to his bride, and it seems that John is so grateful to this messenger of revelation that he falls at the feet of this messenger.

To worship him And we're left to ask, what do we make of what John is doing here. And I can't say it any better than Daniel Aiken, who in his commentary says, and I quote, This is sin. This is idolatry. On John's part What's staggering.

Is that in this text, we see all of heaven worshiping God. And commanding all to praise God, and to give God the glory. And here is John witnessing all of that, and turning and falling at the feet of this angel and worshiping him instead. I think all of us would have guessed that John would have been beyond.

Any such failure by now, but he's evidently not. Here he is, even while receiving divinely inspired revelation. And being treated to this amazing worship clinic, bowing before a being who is not God and worshiping him. Which is why this angel is so quick to rebuke him.

Observe what John says happens in verse 10. He says, but he, the angel, said to me, do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours, and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus, worship God, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Notice the reason this angel gives as to why he should not be worshiped by John.

He says, I'm a fellow servant. Of yours and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. And by the way, guys, if you look carefully. Enough at what the angel says you can see grace.

And what this angel is saying to John. He doesn't say, hey John, I was once a fellow servant of yours until you sinned by worshiping me. No, he still views John as a servant of God, and he still views himself as a fellow servant of God together with John, and he still views John as a brother to all others who hold to the testimony of Jesus. What's obvious from the language here is that John has not lost his salvation.

Nor has he lost his position as a servant of God. That said, this angel is horrified by what John is doing, and he looks at John lying at his feet and says, stop that. Do not do that. Worship God.

God is the one who created me. God is the one who authorized me to come to you and show you these visions and explain these things to you. He is the one who made me your fellow servant. So I know you're grateful for me, but I come from Him, was created by Him.

Worship Him, the angel says. We humans All of us are worshiping creatures. And we so easily fall at the feet of things other than God to worship. It's so easy for us to worship created things.

Rather than worship the creator of those things that we love and value, so the challenge of this angel applies to you and to me as much as it does to John. To help John, this angel adds one final statement explaining why John should worship God. At the end of verse 10, the angel says, for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Before we look at what this angel means by this final statement, we should note that it is completely unsurprising that in order to correct John's worship disorder in this moment, this angel immediately brings up Jesus. And the fact that he would tell John to worship God, and then immediately and only point to Jesus is in itself an indication of the deity of Jesus, right? But as for what this angel is saying here, listen carefully to his words. In fact, let me read it this way.

For the testimony of or about Jesus throughout this book. Is the very spirit. Of what Prophecy is all about. Just like all the Old Testament scriptures pointed to Jesus and testified of Jesus, bearing witness to Jesus and revealing Jesus, even so this angel is telling John that everything that has been revealed to John so far in this book is designed to bear witness to Jesus and to leave a person at Jesus' feet worshiping Him.

In fact, in Revelation Chapter one, at the very beginning of the book, we're told that this whole book is what? The revelation of Jesus Christ, right? The unveiling of Jesus Christ. It's not just a book about future events, about prophecy, it is an unveiling of Jesus Christ.

And the only proper response To the book of Revelation. Is to realize what it testifies about Jesus and to fall at his feet and to worship Him. And this is precisely why this angel is immediately going to open John's eyes and give him his next vision in verse 11. And following which we will not be looking at today, but let me say this, verse 11 and following is one of the greatest passages in all of the Bible.

And we often tend to start reading in verse 11 and just think, oh, that's the next thing that happens. In the prophetic calendar, it is that. But it also happens to be the perfect thing that John needs to see to correct his worship disorder. This angel says to John, stop worshiping me, for the testimony about Jesus is the essence of prophecy, and then immediately John says, and I saw heaven opened, and behold, A white horse.

And him who sat on it is called faithful. And true And John continues on from there with a soul being freshly ravished. By a vision of Jesus, the best solution for any worship disorder. That you and I might have.

is to gaze at Jesus. This whole passage that we have looked at today from beginning to end is about worship. In fact, we can actually say that the whole book of Revelation. is about worship.

In chapter one, we find John literally at the feet of Jesus worshiping Jesus. And here in Revelation 19 we have John being directed. In his worship back to God. I love what John Piper says about this.

Listen to what he says. Worship is what the whole book of Revelation is about. That's the point of all God's judgments, all God's dealings with the world, all God's plans for history from beginning to end, have this one goal worship God. Don't worship the wealth of Babylon.

Don't worship the power of Babylon. Don't worship the pleasures of Babylon. And don't even worship the holy messenger who brings you the good news that Babylon has fallen forever. Worship God.

John was a very mature saint. If he was a member of Cornerstone, he would be the most mature Christian in our congregation, right? We would give him that. Yet we see him today wrongly worshiping some lesser thing than God, and believe it or not, we're actually gonna find him in chapter 22 doing the exact same thing.

And being rebuked again. John's failure shows us how easy it is to worship something other than God, even for a Christian. How easy it is for us as Christians to start worshiping the gifts that God gives rather than God, the giver of those gifts. But what I love about verse 10 here is John's transparency.

He could have left this little detail out about. This moment of failure where he worships this angel and gets rebuked for it. If I were writing the book of Revelation and I did this, I would leave that little detail out. Cause you might think less of me.

But John thinks it's important to tell us about his own personal. Failure, which shows us how confident he is in God's grace. Amen. His transparency with us helps us, I think, to be.

More transparent about our failures, our idolatries. And helps us to be more aware of our tendency to idolize things and people. And to be more humbly aware of the correction that we need in such moments. I don't know who Or what you are worshiping right now.

I know you're worshiping something. I can tell you how you can know what your idols are. For some of you, it's anything that keeps you from believing in Christ. It's anything that gets you to put him on the back burner of your life and to put off.

Believing in him and following him. It's anything In your life that causes you to ignore your conscience and do what is wrong. If you need help finding your idols beyond that. Look at the things that make you angry.

Or anxious As Timothy Keller says, and I'm paraphrasing him, you can find your idols at the bottom of your deepest anxieties. Or at the bottom of your explosions of anger. I don't know what your idols might be right now, but I know they can't compare to the one true God that we've seen displayed in this passage, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent. Jesus loves you so much that he died on the cross to provide perfect atonement for your every sin.

He was raised from the dead 3 days later. And he's now seated at the right hand of God, and he promises. To have an eternal, eternal relationship with anyone who quits trying to save themselves. And lets him be their savior and Lord.

I challenge you this morning to receive the word of Jesus himself when he says, I am the way, not you. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one gets to the Father except through me. Receive the word of Jesus when he says, you are either with me or against me.

And receive the word of Jesus when he says anyone who comes to me. I promise I will not cast them out. If you come to Jesus this morning unclean, he will touch you and make you clean. If you come to Jesus a sinner, he will atone for your every sin through his blood shed at the cross.

If you come to Jesus broken, he will reach out and embrace you. And his embrace will make you whole. What is not to love about a savior like this? If Jesus is speaking to your heart and he's calling to you today, will you answer his call?

If you do, I know that he will be delighted to save you and make you a part of his bride. That will be presented to him one day, like we've been reading about in this passage. And I also know that one day you'll be part of this great multitude. In Revelation 19.

That is worshiping God full of joy, full of gladness, and giving all the glory to Him. I want that for you and I want that. For me and let's pray and ask God to make that. A reality.

Let's pray together. Lord God, I think back over even the this week, and I think of. Different idolatries that had a grip on my heart. Moments where I chose something other than you.

And a passage like this convince convicts me of the wrong of what I have done. But also Lifts me up and your amazing grace. I repent, Lord, of these idolatries and ask that you would just fix my eyes upon Jesus and may a continued gaze. Upon Jesus, rectify any worship disorder that is in me.

And make me a more pure. worshiper of him. I pray for any Lord that are in this room that have not yet. Come running to Jesus.

I pray that they would feel. You're loving. Urgent tug at their hearts and that they would know what a beautiful. Kind Savior you are and that they would come running into your arms.

May they see your beauty even from what we've talked about today to such a degree that they would consider it. An intolerable suffering to live one more minute apart from such a one as beautiful as you. But we know, Lord, this is your work that only you can do in any of our hearts. But we do ask that you would have your way with all of us.

And we'll give you the praise and the glory. Make us Lord, a worshiping people whose worship bears the fragrance of heaven. The very fragrance of what we have seen in our passage today. You're a good God, and we say to you, we love you, we trust you, and we're so thankful for you and your grace.

And we say these things to you in Jesus' name. And all God's people said.