Sermon Tone Analysis

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Theme: The great and terrible Day of the Lord is a great and terrible day of wrath.

That wrath is justified.

Theme: The great and terrible Day of the Lord is a great and terrible day of wrath.

That wrath is justified.

Date: 10/14/2018 File name: Resurrection33.wpd

ID Number:

Date: 10/14/2018 File name: Resurrection33.wpd

ID Number:

Several weeks ago one of our younger members made an interesting observation about the Book of Revelation.

He said that he had enjoyed this series through the book, but that all of the emphasis on wrath and judgment seemed like overkill.

Several weeks ago one of our younger members made an interesting observation about the Book of Revelation.

He said that he had enjoyed this series through the book, but that all of the emphasis on wrath and judgment seemed like overkill.

After reading about these last seven catastrophic, world-ending plagues it can seem that way.

Do the sins of men — particularly those who follow the Beast and wear his mark — merit the severity of the wrath that is being poured out upon them?

Do the unrepentant and unregenerate deserve everlasting hell and torment?

Isn’t this overkill considering the worldwide average life expectancy is seventy years?

Do seven decades of sin merit an eternity of judgment?

A lot of folks struggle with that.

So here are my answers ...

• No. God’s temporal and eternal wrath is not overkill.

• Yes.

God’s temporal and eternal wrath is deserved.

• Yes, God takes sin a whole lot more seriously then do men.

Three times in this section of Scriptures we are told that God’s wrath is just and justified.

• The Saints say so,

• The Angels say so,

• The Altar says so,

A study through the Book of Revelation is not for the faint of heart simply because God’s judgment and wrath figure so prominently in the book.

To neglect the doctrine of wrath and judgment simply because we don’t like talking about it is not wise.

Why is God’s wrath just and justified?

I. GOD’S WRATH IS JUST AND JUSTIFIED BECAUSE HE ALONE IS HOLY

“Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name?

For you alone are holy.

All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.””

(, NIV84)

1. chapter fifteen open with the Apostle witnessing another great sign in heaven

a. this is the third great sign of Revelation

1) the first great sign was a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet

and a crown of twelve stars on her head

a) this is Israel from whom the Anointed One will come — He is Israel’s Messiah,

and the Savior of the World

2) the second great sign was an enormous red dragon with seven heads who

stands ready to devour God’s Anointed One

a) this is Satan who will do anything to keep Jesus from accomplishing God the

Father’s redemptive plan

2. this third sign consists of seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with

them the wrath of God is finished (vs. 1)

a. the terrible carnage predicted at the end of chapter 14 is about to commence

b. the outpouring of His wrath is God’s final attempt to make the worshipers of the

Beast bow before His sovereignty

1) by and large, they will refuse

3. but before this final wrath is poured out John sees a throng of saints worshiping

“And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name.

They held harps given them by God” (, NIV84)

a. they are singing!

they are singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the

song of the Lamb

1) they are songs of triumph which both the saints of the Old Testament and the

New Testament sing

2) they are songs of deliverance — as God delivered Israel from Egypt, even while

pouring out plagues on the Egyptians, so He has delivered the saints from worshiping the Beast, while pouring out his judgments on the Great Babylon; a world in rebellion against Him

b. this is not a song of redemption, but a song of acclamation — they are acclaiming

the might works of God which includes His judgments upon the world

4. in the second half of the first stanza, the saints proclaim, “Just and true are your ways,

O King of the nations!

a. God’s judgments are just and true BECAUSE For you alone are holy

A. GOD’S JUSTICE DEMANDS THAT SIN MUST BE JUDGED

1. the Book of Revelation surveys God’s solution to the crisis of history; how He will bring

about the long-promised world of peace and blessing He has promised

a. after centuries of patient waiting, and putting up with man’s might-is-right

arrogance, man’s hate, and greed, and the bloodshed that has characterized our earth for so long, God says ENOUGH!

He is about to call a halt to the whole rotten business

2. because He is holy — because His holy character demands that sin be judged — God

will do so, and He will be perfectly just in doing so

II.

GOD’S WRATH IS JUST AND JUSTIFIED BECAUSE EVIL MEN HAVE SHED THE

BLOOD OF HIS SAINTS

“Then I heard the angel in ch arge of the waters say: “You are just in these judgments, you who are and who were, the Holy One, because you have so judged; 6 for they have shed the blood of your saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.””

(, NIV84)

1. the multitude who are singing in chapter 15 are singing praise to God because He is

about to unleash justice

A. GOD’S JUSTICE DEMANDS THAT HIS CHILDREN BE VINDICATED

1. here in chapter 16 an angel of God concurs with the assessment of the saints that

God’s wrath is just and justified

a. the judgment of those who have martyred the saints is suited to the evil they have

done

b. we are God’s children, and the Father takes serious exception to the mistreatment

of His family

ILLUS.

In the vernacular of our day, “You mess with God’s people and God will mess

you up!”

2. God’s judgments are not arbitrary and capricious, but are true and just, and He will

judge those who have persecuted and murdered His sons and daughters

• “now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them?” (, NASB95)

• “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; 2 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.” 3 And a second time they said, “Hallelujah!

HER SMOKE RISES UP FOREVER AND EVER.”” (, NASB95)

III.