END OF TIME PROPHECIES 206

Praise to the God of equity                    Revelation 19v1-2.

"After these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven saying "Alleluia; salvation, and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God: for true and righteous are His judgments, for He hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication and hath avenged the blood of His servants at her hand."

What we have here is an almost unimaginable scene, a great multitude in heaven with one voice praising God.  

• Verse 1     praising God for who he is.
• Verse 2     praising God for what He has done.

Firstly we focus on the great multitude on heaven.   This was predicted of old.   To Abraham (who is said to be the father of all that believe), God said, "look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them; and He said unto him, so shall thy seed be."   Genesis 15v5.

In Psalm 22v25, the chapter predicting the crucifixion of Christ, it says  "my praise shall be of thee in the great congregation."     Similarly in Psalm 25v18 it is written " I will give thee thanks in the great congregation: I will praise thee among much people."    Again in Psalm 149v1 it says  "praise ye the Lord, sing unto the Lord a new song, and His praise in the congregation of saints."    This will be a vast assembly of redeemed people in heaven.   A similar thing is said in Revelation 7v9  "after this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the Lamb..........."   Who comprises such a vast assembly of human beings in heaven?   Firstly there will be old testament saints, whose spirits are even now in heaven( Hebrews 12v23), and whose bodies will be resurrected toward the end of the "time of trouble"( Daniel 12v1-2). Then there are the saints of the Church age.    There will also be countless individuals who are saved during the tribulation period as indicated in Revelation 7v9-17.   A New Yorker by the name of Fanny Crosby was inspired by this to write  "What a gathering of the ransomed that will be."   The saints of all ages in heaven with one voice praising God!   We can only imagine that all voices will then be perfect and this will be the largest choir ever assembled anywhere in the universe.

• This song of praise is first to God for who He is.   To understand the four words used to describe God we could insert the word "ascribed". In other words "salvation ascribed to God; glory ascribed to God; honour ascribed to God; and power ascribed to God."   Not only so, but the definite article is before each of these words suggesting that the only true salvation and glory and honour and power belong to God. "To the Lord our God the (only) salvation, and glory, and honour, and power.   In a world which has corrupted salvation and honour and glory and power, the whole of heaven with one voice ascribes to God these four qualities as being His and His alone.   God is the only Saviour of men; God is the supreme glorious person; to God belongs everlasting praise and honour (this in contrast to the dishonour the world gave Him); and only God has the power to see His purposes through to the end.   All other purposes will fail, heaven rejoices in the only true God.  
• Praise for what He has done.     His judgments are said to be "true and righteous;" true, as to their design; righteous as to their execution.   This phrase declares the perfections of God and all in heaven know it and proclaim it.   Not only has He exposed the great whore, but He has judged her.   Having weighed the evidence before His infallible eyes He has brought to an end the corruption and deception and violence of the world's anti-God system. Unlike Babylon who deceive, He is true. Unlike Babylon who violently kill, He saves by righteousness in a way which is consistent with His character.  He has avenged the blood of His servants at her hand.   Down through the centuries God has asked His people to cast aside vengeance and leave it to Him,   "vengeance is mine saith the Lord, I will repay."   Only a perfect being like God can judge the hearts of all people.   The principal however is clear that those whose sins were not covered by the blood of  Christ will pay for their sins, every on of them, in the day of judgment.    There could not be a greater contrast than here, a great multitude praising God for salvation, and another multitude suffering God's judgement. In the end Divine equity will be exercised universally.

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly