After these things… After what things???
After the seals, trumpets and bowls are finished! After God’s wrath has been completed. After the great city Babylon has been judged and destroyed forever!!!
In sharp contrast to the weeping and wailing of the kings and the merchants of the earth over Babylon’s demise, we now hear shouts and exclamations of praise and joyous adoration to the One Who does all these things…
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; Because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.” Revelation 19:1-2
After these things John hears something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and Glory and Power belong to our God!” God has judged the ungodly and saved the godly!
As Revelation 18:20 commanded—we are to rejoice over God’s pronounced judgment against Babylon on our behalf! “Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you again her.” Our present rejoicing can be part of the precursor to the major praise and applause that will most certainly happen immediately after God judges the great harlot!
So…
Rejoice, all saints! Our God wins! We can praise Him now for what He will do in the future! Let’s exclaim our adoration! Hallelujah! Salvation belongs to our God! Glory belongs to our God! Power belongs to our God! God’s judgments are true and righteous! God will judge the great harlot who corrupts the earth with her immorality! He will avenge the blood of His bond-servants on Babylon!
Whew! That felt good! Praising Him always does!
Now, back to the text. In verse 1 John tells us he heard “something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven.” It is interesting that he does not say “a loud voice” but rather “something like” a loud voice. (He actually only says “like”, the Greek participle hos. The word “something” is added by the translators.)
However, according to the Greek word for loud, we know that the sound of whatever or whoever he heard was mighty, exceedingly great, and strong. And we know the multitude is in heaven. Could the multitude be the myriads and myriads and thousands and thousands of angels plus the living creatures and the elders? (Revelation 5:11) Or possibly the great multitude which no one could count who came out of the Great Tribulation? (Revelation 7:9-14) For our present intents and purposes we’ll just call them the Heavenly Babylon Group.
Even though we don’t know who all the group includes, we can picture a great multitude in heaven glorifying God after watching His destruction of Babylon. Although this parallel pales in comparison to what will actually happen someday soon, it’s sort of like a really huge crowd at a ball game going wild over their team’s victory! God wins everything!!! You do realize that, don’t you? Go ahead! Say it out loud and loud, “HALLELUJAH!!!”
Interesting note. The word “Hallelujah” is the Greek transliteration of the Hebrew word “Allelouia”. Hallelujah is used four times in the book of Revelation; all here in Revelation 19. Look at verses 1, 3, 4, and 6. It is not used in any other New Testament book.
More important is its meaning; a praise of adoration. Praise the Lord! Praise You, Jah! Jah being the word Yahweh, God’s memorial Name to all generations. Whenever you see the word “Lord” in small caps like this, “Lord” you can know it is speaking of the Covenant Name of the One True Everlasting, Self-existent God.
It is more than interesting to note its first usage in the Old Testament, Psalm 104:35. “Let sinners be consumed from the earth and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!” The psalmist tells us that sinners will be consumed from the earth and the wicked will be no more. He then blesses the Lord with his entire being for destroying the wicked. Finally, he praises the Lord for His promised judgment. What a remarkable cross-reference for these verses in Revelation 19!
What specific attributes of God are praised? What three things belong to our God and no other? Salvation. Glory. Power. We could really spend a lot of time here examining these three things in the light of His recent destruction of Babylon. I tend to forget that we are simply doing an overview read-through of Revelation. So, for now, I encourage you to look up these three words and contemplate God’s ownership and use of them in Babylon’s recent demise. (In other words, don’t take them out of their context.)
What is factual about God’s judgments? They are righteous and true. God just destroyed the financial powerhouse of the earth. Was He righteous in doing so? Yep! On the scales of justice would God’s actions be considered true and correct? Yep! Revelation 18:6-7 says it well. Perfectly accurate recompense! That is why all of heaven is praising Him for His most recent judgment, the complete annihilation of Babylon!
According to verses 1 and 2, why is the Heavenly Babylon Group praising God for His salvation, glory, and power? Because He has judged the great harlot! And the judgment was extermination!
According to the same two verses, why was Babylon judged? Two reasons are stated. One, because she was corrupting (spoiling, ruining, destroying) the earth with her immorality. Go over the list God gave us in Revelation 17 and 18 of her deeds! Harlotry, acts of immorality with the kings of the earth, those who dwelt on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her wrathful immorality, she had a gold cup full of abominations and of the unclean things of her immorality, the mother of harlots, her sensual dealings with the merchants of the earth, bodies of slaves and souls of humans were her merchandise!!!
Two, because she had murdered God’s bond-servants. Blasphemy against God, drunk with the blood of the saints (God’s holy ones, those who are set apart unto God), drunk with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus, God’s people taken captive within her system, the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all who have been slain on the earth were found in her!
Don’t leave verses 1 and 2 just yet. What, in effect, was the result of God’s judgment on Babylon? Vengeance! God avenged the blood of His bond-servant on her! He paid her back what was due! Perfect, righteous, true vengeance! Praise-worthy and powerful vengeance! He put an end to her evil deeds and accomplished salvation for His saints that were still on the earth!
And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.” Revelation 19:3
John hears a second chorus of exuberant praise from the heavenly multitude. “Hallelujah!” This time they are praising God that His judgment will last for all of eternity! “Babylon’s smoke rises up forever and ever!” Babylon’s smoke will rise up for eternity, but she, herself, will never rise again. Ever.
Rejoice, all saints! Our God wins! We can praise Him now! Hallelujah! Babylon’s smoke will rise up forever and ever! Praise the Lord!!!
And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” Revelation 19:4
The intensity of praise seems to mount as John hears the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures praising God while they fall down and worship the One Who sits on creation’s universal throne. “Amen. Hallelujah!” By using the Hebrew word “Amen” the elders and the creatures are agreeing with all that has been said, saying, “IT IS ABSOLUTELY, DEFINITELY, 100% TRUE!!!”
In case you don’t remember, go back to Revelation 4 and refresh your memory about the identities of the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures. Chapter 4 is a scene which shows us what is going on in heaven right now! Don’t miss out on the joy of joining them in praise to our God right now! Rejoice, all saints! Our God wins! We can fall down and worship Him now! We can praise Him now! Amen! Hallelujah!
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.” Revelation 19:5
The third sound John hears is a voice coming from the throne saying, “Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.”
Whose voice is this? We know that it comes from the throne but we cannot be sure whose voice it is. Perhaps John doesn’t know. Some commentators say it is an angel, others say it is one of the four creatures, and some have other ideas, but all their conclusions are based on the fact that it says “our God”. Therefore, they reason it cannot be God or the Lord Jesus. Although I don’t know whose voice is speaking for sure, I want to put a thought out there. Read the following verses and notice what I have underlined.
In Mark 15:34 it tells us that “At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?””
John 20:17 tells us “Jesus *said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’””
Jesus is speaking here in Revelation 3:2. “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.”
Once again, it is Jesus is speaking in Revelation 3:12. “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”
In each of these cross-references Jesus calls the Father His God. There are many other such verses, but I have pointed these out in order to contemplate this question. If the voice comes from the throne and refers to God as our God, why couldn’t this voice be Jesus’ voice?
I think it is possible. One more reference that comes to mind is Hebrew 2:11-12. “For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will proclaim Your Name to My brethren, in the midst of the congregation I will sing Your praise.”
Do you see it? The author of Hebrews is quoting the psalmist and telling us that Jesus will sing praises to His God with His brethren! Jesus, fully God, became fully man as well, in order to be our Kinsman Redeemer! Here in Revelation 19:5 the commanding voice, perhaps our Kinsman Redeemer, is ordering all God’s bond-servants, everyone who fears God, no matter their position in life to give praise to our God! Our lowly position contrasts the exalted position of God, Himself! And most certainly, God, who is over all, deserves all praise!!! He deserves to be served!!! He deserves to be feared by everyone who is His!!!
Rejoice, all saints! Praise our God, all saints! It is a command from the throne! Our God destroys Babylon! Our God will destroy all evil and wickedness! We must praise Him now! Amen. Amen. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! You are God! We are Your bond-servants! We all fear You—both the small and the great—we all reverently fear You! We are in awe of You! We praise You God! We praise You God! We praise You God!
Wow! Oh, wow! Oh, wow!