Today we delve deep into the book of Revelation, focusing specifically on chapter 19. We’re tackling the pivotal concepts of praising during hardships, without feeling like a hypocrite, and the grand narrative of the Marriage of the Lamb. With insights from David Hocking, we explore how God’s judgment and glory are revealed through these powerful scriptures. Learn what it means to praise God not based on what we’re facing, but on who He is, a theme that’s echoed time and again throughout Revelation.
Let me remind all of you that if you’re a little weak on praise, if life has been a bummer for you, if the circumstances are not what you like, if things are hurtful and stressful, how does one praise the Lord without feeling hypocritical? And it’s kind of like a problem. First of all, don’t worry about being hypocritical. There’s a little hypocrite in all of us. And I believe that we ought to be obedient even if we feel hypocritical. Like a fellow says, he said, I’m not going to go to that church, there are too many hypocrites down there. And I always say, well, one more won’t make any difference.
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If life’s been a bummer lately, your life is just plain difficult right now. Maybe the circumstances aren’t what you hoped for. And frankly, your heart’s… hurting and hurting bad. You may wonder how you can praise the Lord without feeling like a hypocrite. Don’t worry, there’s times where all of us can be a bit hypocritical in our lives. But you know something? God calls us to worship Him anyway, not because we feel worthy, but because He is worthy. In this edition of Hope for Today, David Hawking takes us back into Revelation chapter 19, verses 1 through 10, where heaven rejoices and the marriage of the Lamb reminds us that our praise flows from who He is, not from what we face. Well, stay tuned. It’s time for day two of David’s message, The Marriage of the Lamb, and that’s coming right up. Just before today’s lesson, let me remind you that you can dig even deeper into this Revelation radio series when you order a complete set of David’s original sermon notes for this series. These are David’s detailed outlines for each of the 48 messages in the Revelation series, and the complete pack is just $10.00. Or you can get the entire Revelation series on MP3 audio, and that is just $30. Or on DVD, if you get the DVDs, you can watch the series being taught with all of David’s illustrations, and that is $50. Call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada to order. And Bible by the numbers 24253. Or visit davidhawking.org and order online. That’s davidhawking.org. Every resource is designed to help you grow in your understanding of God’s Word and the powerful prophecies found in the book of Revelation. The website again, davidhawking.org. Well, and here’s David with day two of The Marriage of the Lamb. And we’re going back to Revelation chapter 19, verses 1 through 10.
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The Revelation, the Unveiling of Jesus Christ. That’s what the book is all about. So it’s not the focus here on the church being married to Jesus. The focus is on the marriage of the Lamb. And oh yes, his wife has made herself ready. It’s important how you see it. All heaven is breaking out in praise for what God has done in his great victory over Babylon the Great. Now as we look at the praise of God being proclaimed in heaven in the opening six verses, there are three things that I draw to your attention that I think are encouraging and worthy of us taking note. One would be the multitude who gives this praise to God. The second thing I’d bring to your attention about this praise that’s proclaimed in heaven is the motivation behind the praise, this heavenly multitude’s praise. There are actually three reasons. You could note them in your Bible with the word for. The word for is a Greek word, hati, which should be because. Like verse 2, because. These are telling you the reasons why they’re praising God. Because true and righteous are His judgment. Because He has judged the great harlot. And the last one’s in verse 6, because the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. So let’s just look at those three again. The first one would be the character of God. Why are we praising God so much? Because of the character of God that’s revealed in these judgments. When we see what his hand does, we realize he is true and righteous in all of his judgments. So the character of God is a motivation for praise. Let me remind all of you that if you’re a little weak on praise, if life has been a bummer for you, if the circumstances are not what you like, if things are hurtful and stressful, How does one praise the Lord without feeling hypocritical? And you say, well, I just don’t feel like praise. And I do understand that. Many days I feel the same way. What then motivates us? And I have found consistently that the only thing that really helps my struggling soul is to focus on the character of God. If I look at my circumstances, it’s not going to come. And I just encourage you, if you’re just a little short on praise, struggling a bit, I encourage you to focus on the character of God. True and righteous. Well, back in chapter 6, verse 10, you remember the souls under the altar said, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? And, of course, he does when he destroys Babylon the great. So no wonder they’re now praising him. True and righteous are your judgments. Go back to Revelation 19 again. So the first reason is because of the character of God. That’s the motivation behind his praise. But a second reason would be because of the conquest of Babylon being fulfilled. Babylon’s conquered. And that’s what it says in the next four, or because. In verse 2, because he hath judged the great whore who did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And notice they say hallelujah as her smoke rose up forever and ever. That has caused a lot of people to question what’s happening here. It doesn’t say and smoke rose up because sometimes the presence and glory of God does cause smoke. Back to chapter 15, verse 8. The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power. So you see, it could be God’s presence and God’s power that’s causing the smoke. Isaiah chapter 6, when Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, his train filled the temple, the posts of the temple moved at the voice of him that cried, and smoke filled the entire temple. sometimes you’ll hear people speak of the Shekinah glory of God, the dwelling of the glory of God. It was often smoke. It was so thick that the priest could not even minister when God’s visible manifestation of his presence, the smoke would come down and fill the holies and the holy place, and they couldn’t even see. They had to stand still and wait. It was awesome, the awesome presence of God. But here it says, her smoke. Chapter 19, verse 3. They’re shouting, hallelujah, praise the Lord. Why? Her smoke rose up forever and ever. Well, we can understand it rising for a while, but it says forever and ever. I think the point is that God will never let us forget what he has done. I think through all eternity, we’re going to be reminded in many, many ways of the whole plan of God and what he accomplished. And we will know by the judgment of the great poor Babylon the Great, we will know that God is true and righteous. His judgments are righteous forevermore. And the very fact of that destruction will be in some sense presented to us forever and ever. So we’ll never forget what God has done, the great victory that he has won. The third reason that I would add about the motivation is down at the end of verse 6. The third four, because it’s because of the coming of the kingdom of our Lord. Not only the character of God that’s revealed in these judgments, true and righteous he is, not only because of the conquest of Babylon being fulfilled, and it was and will continue to be matter for us to acknowledge through all eternity, but a third reason is because of the coming of the kingdom of our Lord. It says, hallelujah, why? Because the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. You know, when it says the Lord God omnipotent, we don’t even need the next word. If you say the Lord God of omnipotent, then of course he reigns. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. We mentioned that there are three things here in the praise of God that’s proclaimed in heaven. We talked a little bit about the multitude that gives this praise and the motivation they would have behind that praise. But look at the message of praise. Did you see it? Maybe you skipped over it quickly. It’s in verse 1. It has four parts. Three parts if you have a new American standard and a new international, which God can heal you. But anyway, there are four parts in the King James text, and these words belong in the text. One of the interesting things, folks, is that there’s a definite article, the, in the Greek text in front of every one of them. Now watch this carefully. Because this is what you and I are going to be doing in heaven. You say, how are we going to praise the Lord? Here’s how we’re going to pray. It has a four-fold, we might say, stanzas to this great anthem of praise. First, the salvation. Second, the glory. Third, the honor. And fourth, the power. I think New American Standard, New International leaves out the word honor. Now turn to Psalm 96. Psalm 96. The salvation, the glory, the honor, the power. And then the statement, under the Lord our God. So each one of them flows under the Lord our God. Now in Psalm 96, you have a psalm of praise that reflects this glorious event in Revelation 19 that will occur in heaven. Psalm 96. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song. Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Sing unto the Lord. Bless his name. Show forth his salvation. There it is, from day to day. Declare his, what? Glory among the heathen, his wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised. He’s to be feared above all gods. His honor, but it’s going to come here, even that very word. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the Lord made the heavens holy. Honor, there it is, and majesty are before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. Give unto the Lord, O you kindreds of the peoples, give unto the Lord glory and strength or power. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name. Bring an offering and come into his courts. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him all the earth. Say among the heathen that the Lord reigneth. That’s what that text says in Revelation 19, 6. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved. He shall judge the peoples righteously. That’s what that praise is about in Revelation 19, the judgment of the Lord. Let the heavens rejoice. Let the earth be glad. Let the sea roar and the fullest thereof. Let the field be joyful, all that is therein. Then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the Lord. Why? For he cometh. He cometh to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth. And even look at the next Psalm, the opening line. The Lord what? Reigneth. You see, what we have in Revelation 19 is a reflection of many of the Psalms, of which Psalm 96 is a beautiful one because all four aspects are in that Psalm. Let’s go back to Revelation 19. Take another look at this. Revelation 19, the message of praise that the multitude gives. It has four parts, as we said. First, they praise God for the salvation that belongs to the Lord our God. This would read, salvation to the Lord our God. Now, he gives salvation. He doesn’t need to be saved. But it’s salvation that belongs to the Lord our God. The point is that there isn’t any other source or resource to provide salvation. And in heaven we’ll know that better than we know it now. There is no other hope but Jesus Christ our Lord. Salvation belongs to the Lord our God. There is no other Savior. He’s the Savior of the world. especially those who believe, 1 Timothy 4.10 says. Turn to Titus chapter 2. Titus chapter 2. And look at verses 11 to 13. What will we praise God for when we get to heaven? We’ll praise him for the salvation that belongs only to God. Only God can give you that. No one else can. Peter said in Acts 4, verse 13, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. There is no other way. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by him. Titus 2, 11, the grace of God that bringeth what? Salvation. Salvation. hath appeared to all men. In heaven we’ll sing, salvation to our God. We’ll know that then what we should know now, but we’ll know it in a fuller sense, that only God can bring salvation. His grace has brought salvation, appeared to all men. Verse 13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our what? Savior, Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord. Back to Revelation 19. The second stanza of our praise in heaven is going to be to praise God for the glory that is under the Lord our God. Now, there’s glory that is God’s, and we might say non-transferable. We also glorify God. But we’re going to praise God for the glory. It does not say glorify God, which we will be doing, which would be a parallel to the word praise our God. It’s not saying that. And I just want to emphasize that. When you say hallelujah, praise the Lord, what are we praising God for? That we can glorify him? No, we’re praising God for the glory that is his. You remember in John 17 in the prayer of Christ to his father, he said, Father, glorify me with the glory which I had with thee before the foundation of the world. So there was a sense in which he laid it aside, or as Philippians 2 says in verse 6, he emptied himself. He laid aside the exercise of his divine attributes or maybe the brilliance and display of whatever his glory really means to But friends, in that day, that glory will be seen once again. Now at times it was revealed, wasn’t it? Remember the Mount of Transfiguration? And Peter said in his epistle, we saw the glory. We saw the most excellent glory there. John wrote in John 1.14, the word became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his what? Glory. It was Peter, James, and John that saw that glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. Well, one day, all heaven will be lit up with the glory of God. Glory is what God is in and of himself. It does refer to his attributes. It refers also to the brilliant outward display of however great he is. And friends, if you’re asking me to adequately describe it, I’m sorry, I give up. I’ve tried, and it’s beyond my wildest imaginations. The glory that is God himself will fill the universe. There’s no need for any source of light at all except for his glory. It will just radiate from him as it once did in the Mount of Transfiguration in a moment when he did, as some have suggested, pulled back the curtain of his own flesh and allowed the rays and brilliance of his glory to blind the eyes of Peter, James, and John. A spectacular occasion that they referred to later in life when they wrote their epistles. The glory of God. Boy. Boy. When we see Jesus, all heaven will be lit up with it. Yes, we’re going to glorify God, but he has glory in and of himself, that which belongs to him. That isn’t transferable to anybody else. It’s who God is, and none of us have seen it. But one day we shall see as we have never seen before. Isn’t that going to be great? Psalm 115.1 says, Not unto us, not unto us give glory. Don’t ever do that. Turn to Psalm 24. It’s one of my favorites in speaking of the glory of our coming king. Psalm 24. And look at verses 7 to 10. Psalm 24, 7 to 10. What a beautiful, beautiful introduction to the coming of our King is beautifully portrayed here by the psalmist David. Verse 7, Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates, even lift them up, you everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of armies of hosts. The Bible says all the armies of heaven are going to be with him. He is the King of glory. You say, well, isn’t this the Father rather than Jesus? No. No, it’s not. It’s Jesus. You say, how do you know? Well, 1 Corinthians 2 settles that one. 1 Corinthians 2. And look at what 1 Corinthians 2 says. It’s very interesting. Verse 7. We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified, watch it, the Lord of who? The Lord of glory. There you have it. Isn’t it wonderful? But they didn’t crucify the Father. They crucified Jesus. He’s the Lord of glory. King of kings and Lord of lords. God Almighty in human flesh.
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That’s David Hawking, and this is Hope for Today. David’s back in just a moment to close out today’s message with some final observations. Stay tuned for that. First, Matt’s here, and together we’re going to share a wonderful home Bible study resource.
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Matt? Each month, we air a special program featuring my dad’s answers from the Bible to questions we’ve received from listeners over the years. And at the root of many inquiries are basic but essential questions like, who am I? Where did I come from? What is the meaning of my life? Where am I going? Is there any hope for me?
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Yeah, Matt, in your dad’s book, Life’s Greatest Questions, we go to the Bible, the sure word of God. Amen. You can always trust God’s word.
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Yes. We go there for the answers to the perplexities of the human heart. Yes. You know, the psalmist asked, what is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him?
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Psalm 8, 4. Our Lord cares and the Bible doesn’t avoid the tough questions, does it, Matt? No. It answers them with a truth of God’s love, his plan of redemption, and his promise of eternal hope.
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You know, the Lord Jesus declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me, from John 14, 6. Wow, what a great truth that is. Amen. Amen.
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And if there’s any doubt about it, there it is. Yep. Friend, in Him, we find both the meaning of life and the assurance of everlasting life.
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And you don’t need to remain in darkness concerning life’s greatest questions. God has given us His truth, and in it we find hope, assurance, and peace through His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah, John 8, 32. And you shall know the truth, Matt.
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And the truth shall make you free. Hey, John 8, 32. Amen. Well, get your copy of Life’s Greatest Questions by David Hawking today for $10 from Hope for Today. Read, enjoy, and then share with a friend who also needs answers. When you purchase this or any resource, would you prayerfully consider adding a donation to help us continue the ministry work of Hope for Today? Or perhaps send a donation by itself. And please do pray for us whenever you hear or remember Hope for Today. To get these terrific Revelation series resources, call 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or visit us online at davidhawking.org. And a reminder, the sermon notes are just $10, a complete pack. The complete MP3 audio series is $30. That’s the whole series in Revelation. Or the series in Revelation on DVD, that’s $50. And of course, these are designed to help you grow even deeper in your understanding of the book of Revelation. And before we return to today’s lesson, I want to take a moment to say, life is just tough sometimes. You might be dealing with loss, maybe a strained relationship, or just that heavy feeling of loneliness that won’t go away. Listen, God sees you. He knows your pain. He hears your prayers. He sees your tears, and He cares. And we do too. We’d count it a privilege to lift up your needs before the Lord in prayer. So if you need prayer today, do get in touch with us. You can call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S., 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or write to us at Hope for Today, Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, B.C., V2S 8P1. We’ll lift you up before the Lord, who is always faithful and true. Amen. And while you’re writing, please pray for us, too, that we’ll continue to stand firm and share the truth of God’s Word until Jesus returns. Well, once again, here’s David.
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Well, thanks for listening today. We’re doing the marriage supper of the Lamb. What a day that’s going to be. By the way, it won’t be in heaven. It’s going to be on earth. And that will begin the new millennial kingdom, the messianic kingdom of our Lord. And all the Old Testament believers, they’re going to be there. And believers out of the tribulation period, what an occasion. And the bridegroom is the feature, and it’s our blessed Lord Yeshua. And all of God’s people will be there. Verse 7 of chapter 19 says, Let us be glad and rejoice and give honor to him, not to us, to him. For the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. What wonderful words they are. And friends, we want to thank you for your help to keep us on the air today. We don’t, as I say often, we don’t have a church or an organization behind us. Nobody’s putting in money from some big company or something else. No, we’re dependent upon the listeners in every broadcast area. If you’d like to keep Hope for the Day and its teaching on the radio, we need your help. And so I pray that you’ll consider that today. And thank you for the help that has come our way earlier. We’re still not out of the woods. We need your help. God bless you and thank you ahead of time. God bless you.
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Thank you, David. And to support this ministry, you can call us at 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 1-888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. Or give online at davidhawking.org. On our next broadcast, it’s day three of our lesson called The Marriage of the Lamb. I’m sure to invite a friend to listen along with you as we bring you the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, of course, in the book of Revelation, here on Hope for Today.
