Worship is important to God. This devotional reading looks at how worship will continue in Heaven after the fall of Babylon.
Nuggets
- The great multitude of saints will be worshiping God.
- As always, the elders and the living creatures worship God.
- A voice continued the worship.
The scene is going to shift for the last four chapters. The stage will be in Heaven.
Many will think the fall of Babylon isn’t a cause to rejoice; but for true disciples, it is. Because of it, we can continue to worship God.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the Homecoming series
Rejoicing in Heaven
“After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.’ Once more they cried out, ‘Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever’” (Rev. 19: 1-3 ESV)
The great multitude of saints will be worshiping God.
Worship is very important. Thomas told us exactly how much. He wrote, “Worship is the vital breath and Inspiration of all holy intelligences.”
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The worship is offered by a great multitude. This is the people of God, glorified through grace. One title we call them is saints.
We’ve already seen the multitude identified. “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands” (Rev. 7: 9 ESV).
That they were clothed in white robes show they had already been glorified. That they had palm branches in their hands showed they were worshiping.
The worship was probably loud because of the great number of people. But I don’t think that was the only reason they were loud.
Even just reading it, we can feel their enthusiasm. Their hallelujahs are interspersed throughout the praise.
We know we are to worship and not stay silent.
- “For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch” (Isa. 62: 1 ESV).
- “That my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!” (Ps. 30: 12 ESV).
They are probably singing at the top of their lungs because of their joy. They couldn’t keep the joy within themselves, so they let it out through their worship.
These are some people from all of the ages throughout time. These are people from all of mankind. There is no qualifying characteristic that eliminates them from salvation.
The only thing that stops anyone from gaining salvation is their unbelief that Jesus is our Savior and their unwillingness to submit to the authority of Sovereign God.
We’ve already seen the multitude worshiping. “and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (Rev. 7: 10 ESV).
That time they were worshiping both God and the Lamb. This time, their worship has one object – God. They are focusing their love and adoration on Him.
We know that God deserves this worship. He alone gives us salvation through Jesus, even though He was the One Whom we disobeyed.
Salvation was designed to eliminate this wrong that mankind performed. By choosing to obey him, we reverse our unrighteous mindset. We become pure, and holy, once again as He is.
True, this isn’t a flip-of-the-switch occurrence. It happens during the process of sanctification. Perfection will only come when we are called home to Heaven.
The multitude credit God with glory. According to Beddome, glory is the highest form of honor. No other being deserves this honor.
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The multitude worships God because of His power. None has the ability and strength of God.
We’re not going to get into God’s judgments right now. We’ll save that for the next chapter.
All in heaven — including the multitude of mankind — will worship God continuously.
Twenty-Four Elders and the Four Living Creatures
“And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’” (Rev. 19: 4 ESV)
As always, the elders and the living creatures worship God.
We’ve talked about the elders and the living creatures several times.
- “Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads” (Rev. 4: 4 ESV).
- “And before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind:” (Rev. 4: 6 ESV).
- “And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’ And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Rev. 5: 5-6 ESV).
- “And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth’” (Rev. 5: 8-10 ESV).
- “And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped” (Rev. 5: 14 ESV).
- “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,” (Rev. 7: 9 ESV).
- “And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,” (Rev. 7: 11 ESV).
- “And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,” (Rev. 11: 16 ESV).
- “And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth” (Rev. 14: 3 ESV).
We think the elders are the Apostles, and the 12 sons of Jacob/Israel. We have no clue what the four living creatures are.
What we do know is the 24 elders are going to be seated on thrones around God’s throne. They are going to be holding harps and incense, while they worship God.
Here, they say two words: amen and alleluia. Isn’t that what worship is all about?!!!!
When saying amen, we are giving our consent and agreement to what was said in the prayer. When saying hallelujah or alleluia, we are literally saying God be praised or praise the Lord.
We can say God be praised all we want. Until we truly give our consent and agreement, our salvation isn’t genuine.
In other words, it isn’t enough to just love God. We must consciously submit to Him.
Bartlett told us why both are needed. He wrote,
“For what is Amen? The perfect receiving of every dispensation from God. And what is Alleluia? The perfect giving back of all praise in every dispensation to the bosom of God. Amen is the open breast to receive; Alleluia is the full heart to return the ray: for Amen gathers all, and Alleluia reflects all: Amen sits still and endures; but Alleluia soars away in praise.”
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That is what Heaven is all about. Because Heaven is every good thing that God can give us, we shout from the rooftops what a great and glorious God He is.
Don’t misunderstand. Yes, submission is compliance to another’s will.
But amen is the confirmation of our acceptance of that will.
We can’t have the amen without the alleluia, and we can’t have the alleluia without the amen.
Only through both can we deepen our portion of God. “‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lam. 3: 24 ESV).
Johnston made a great observation. This isn’t the first time the elders and the living creatures have sang.
But their song is really no different, even though Babylon has fallen. The message is the same. The strength and volume is the same.
Faith and holiness exist side by said.
From the Throne
“And from the throne came a voice saying, ‘Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great’” (Rev. 19: 5 ESV)
A voice continued the worship.
Okay, we get another voice from Heaven. But who is this one?
Well, it could be God. The voice did come from the throne.
I would guess that it is the Lamb. When Jesus ascended to Heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God.
- “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12: 2 ESV).
- “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom’” (Heb. 1: 8 ESV).
That is why this verse says, “… ‘Praise our God …’” (Rev. 19: 5 ESV). Jesus has always and will always praise God the Father.
Yes, Jesus said that He and the Father are One (Jn. 10: 30). Yet, He always acknowledged God’s authority. “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise’” (Jn. 5: 19 ESV).
It also talks about fearing – reverencing – God.
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1: 7 ESV).
- “The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate” (Prov. 8: 13 ESV).
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight” (Prov. 9: 10 ESV).
- “The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short” (Prov. 10: 27 ESV).
- “The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm” (Prov. 19: 23 ESV).
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever!” (Ps. 111: 10 ESV).
Only those who revere God – have ABCDed – will be able to praise Him. Only those who have completely submitted to Him and are His slaves will be able to praise Him.
That means we have given our will to God. We will do as He asks, cheerfully and completely.
We can’t be lazy or timid. We must do as God call us.
Making the Connections #1
The worship services in Heaven are going to be in marked contrast to what happens on earth.
We don’t show God enough gratitude in our worship services. Think about it.
How many of our worship services are filled with great joy? We have the people that don’t care for the singing. Then we have those that like the singing but don’t care for the preaching. Some would like fewer prayers said.
All those are elements of worship of God. They all come from God’s Word.
- “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3: 16 ESV).
- “All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable” (Mt. 13: 34 ESV).
- “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you” (Mt. 6: 6 ESV).
Beddome said that our worship may be used the criterion of true religion. Wouldn’t we expect that rather than be surprised if this was the way God judged us?
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The foundation of true worship is a gracious heart. That gratitude must only be directed toward God.
Making the Connections #2
We’re not going to discuss judgment right now, but let’s talk about truth.
“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me’” (Jn. 14: 6 ESV).
If God’s truth comes to us through Jesus, it is His truth we are trying to understand. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding” (Prov. 3: 5 ESV).
Beddome told us how that all fit together. He wrote,
“They who desire to say a full Amen in prayer, must thereby understand that they not only ask or appropriate to themselves all that the mouth of the interceding priest or of the petitioner desires; but far more than this; that there may be on all points agreement between their mind and the mind of God; that whether the prayer be granted or denied, they may equally subscribe with the heart, and say ‘Amen,’ and desire that all the mind of God, expressed or unexpressed, may be fulfilled in them.”
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- A true Amen comes through understanding God.
- It isn’t about us and what we desire. It is about God.
- There are times we may be totally in tune with God.
- The outcome of our prayer shouldn’t diminish – or even strengthen – our Amen.
- Our desire should be to fulfill the purpose God has for us.
Making the Connections #3
Nevill gave a sincere plea. He said that we have to change our worship services.
I don’t know when Nevill wrote that, but I am sure God is still calling us to do just that. Remember, God has told Pastor Steve that today Church is missing Jesus through ignorance and apathy.
Nevill first gave an overview. He wrote, “There is a coldness and a lifelessness about our services which to my mind is very painful.”
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So, let’s look to see what Nevill thought needed change.
· We must reverence God, especially through prayer.
· We must focus on God, not let our thoughts wander.
· We must use God’s Word.
· We must remove the coldness from our worship.
How Do We Apply This?
- Recognize God’s presence in our lives.
- Study about God so that we may obey Him.
- Don’t compartmentalize God but connect all to His plans for us.
- Look to Heaven where our preparations will be reality.
- Meditate on God’s being and character along with His plan.
- Repeat the Amen after all prayers – even if someone else is the one saying the prayer.
- Fear God.
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Father God. We praise You. We submit to You and want to follow Your Will. Help us to worship You correctly. We want to follow You. Amen.
What do you think?
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