Corona Chronicles - Crown of Gold

We're in chapter 15 and we're going to read the first 4 verses of chapter 15. Of the book of revelation. I saw in heaven another great and marvelous sign. 7 angels. With the 7 last plagues.

Last because with them God's wrath is completed. And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and standing beside the sea those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name, They held hearts given them by God and sang the song of God servant Moses and of the lamb. Great and marvelous are your deeds. Lord God or my team. Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.

Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone, not holy. All nations will come and worship before you for your righteous acts have been revealed. Yeah. And so here we are.

We're we're we're we're always in revelation. John is wanting to show us different things, isn't it? Yeah. So, we've been thinking really for the last 6 or 7 episodes, about about the judgment of God that is coming and the wrath of God that is coming upon the earth. But John is always wanting us not to forget the people of God in these judgments.

So we're seeing what is happening to the unrepentant, but he's wanting us to say, look like God's people are going to be victorious. They are gonna overcome. They are gonna stand on the last day. And that's kind of what you see in this in this picture here. You've got in verse 2, what looked like a sea of glowing glowing fires standing beside to sea, those who have been victorious over the beach and over its image.

And that c language is just so full of helpful stuff, isn't it? Yeah. I mean, just slightly go back again. You you you you know, at the end of chapter 14, we had that whole, you know, Roth and Why impressed if you remember that. But But so God's wrath is completed, but there's always salvation, isn't it?

Yeah. There's rot there's wrath and salvation. And these people are victorious because of the lamb. Yes. See a glass is an interesting thing because sea often in in the bible.

You know, has it has a lot of meaning really. It's it's the place of chaos It's the place of evil evil monsters could be under the sea. It's the place of unsettled satanic action. Mhmm. And that's the beast of the sea.

And there's the beast of the sea. Yeah. I mean, 13 as you as you say. And then the fact that the sea was in the in the in the way of Moses, bringing the people out from pharaoh. And and then, of course, God did that miracle.

And he he he opened the way through the through the Red Sea. Mhmm. So what you've got here is a sea of glass. It's settled. It's calm.

God's controlling it. Like Jesus, so he he he could say to the store, be still and then walk on it, couldn't he or he, you know, he was walking on it. So he has power over over evil and and and all of that. It's settled. It's calm.

It's done. Yeah. And and you can see that, you know, they're they are celebrating that, aren't they? So in verse 2, they held hearts given them by God. They're singing the song of God's servant.

And as you say when Moses and God's people came through that red sea. You know, that signaled really their redemption, didn't it? They had been saved from evil for life in a new land. And what were they to do when they were gonna sing the praises of God? Because God is the 1 who had done this.

And that's what happens here. There's like a big instrument distribution session. Yeah. You know, all god's people. It's like, I remember at a primary school when you just sit in a music room.

A teacher would come round with a box of instruments, and you had to choose your instrument, you know. It's that sort of thing. Everyone's been given an instrument. Everyone's gonna be singing. And they're gonna be singing not just a song of Moses and of the lamb, but they're gonna sing to the lamb, you know, because he's the 1 who's he's the 1 who's done it.

And great and marvelous see your deeds, lord God and White, so just and true in your ways. And the deed the deeds here seem to be everything that we've looked at so far. It's the redemption and the judgment, isn't it? And then they're almost kind of taking a step back and surveying all that God has done. And saying this is just marvelous, but but it's awe inspiring.

Who will not fear you, Lord? You know, you're the god who can part the sea and crash it down on your enemies and steal it with a word. Who will not fear of judge over edema? They're singing, not they those things. Yeah.

And I mean, don't we want someone who is just and true? I mean, that's that's an interesting question, isn't it? Because on the 1 hand, certainly when it comes to other people who have done me harm and do and do the world harm. We want a just and true judge. It's good news, isn't it?

If you're going it, you know, if you're going to court against someone who's who's done your great harm. Yeah. You want a judge who is just and true. And not only just and true knows all things, so he can really work it out. But The frightening thing about a judge who's just and true, is he gonna be just and true against me as well?

And suddenly I think all the little things I thought were alright, he's going to be against. Yeah. And so there should be a fear before 1 who is true and just. And and and and that's in a sense why we we fear and we worship, but the fact that he's dealt with sin justly in Jesus, the lamb means that this really good news. We got adjusted through God.

Who sorted and dealt and and taken my sin and all of it and therefore now is my savior and my lover. Yeah. And and I think the the kind of The the other wonderful thing about that savior is he is for all the nations, and I think that's the kind of difference if you like between the song of Moses and the song of the lamb in that, you know, Moses was the head of a particular ethnic group is real is real where we're taken out of slavery out of Egypt to begin a new life. Now they were just a foretaste of God's bigger redemption plan, but now John's deliberately showing us that the song of the lamb goes out to the nations. You know, He is the king of the nations.

All nations will come and worship before you. So all who flee from the wrath to come by embracing this son will be part of the victory parade in singing this song. It's not just 1 ethnic group. It's for the world who trust in Christ. Mhmm.

Yeah. So there's there's great hope. But I I guess that question is worth asking, isn't it? To people that are perhaps listening in. Who will not fear you, lord, and bring glory to your day?

Well, unfortunately, there are people. They don't fear him. They think that they can stand before this true and just your I've got a word. I've got some things to say to him. Yeah.

You know, I know you haven't. And you should fear him. But it's it's not a it's it's not a cowering fear for those that have understood what he's done for us. It's a righteous fear, isn't it? That that brings glory to it.

Now we we we love him now. It's a sort of love fear, isn't it? Perhaps we should leave it there and we'll come back next time.