The Revelation Song and Revelation 7:12

    Today we look at the sixth and seventh virtues extolled to God in Rev. 7:12. This verse is tied to Rev. 5:12, when all the world will be praising the Lamb of God who was slain. That chorus and choir gets even larger and is repeated when those from the Great Tribulation come before God's throne. John the Revelator saw possibly three and a half billion people and possibly more singing a song about the Lamb. 

    I do not know what the song will sound like from every nation, tongue and tribe. If you have not seen the story behind "The Revelation Song," watch the link below.

     6. POWER. This is the fourth and final word that is used in Rev. 5:12, Rev. 5:13, and Rev. 7:12. Those four virtues (Blessing, Honor, Glory and Power) of God are especially significant. 

     This is the dunamis power from which we also get the word “dynamite.” The explosive was so named because when it was invented, the power seemed massive considering its relatively small size. It was as though the power came from beyond itself. 

     Likewise, dunamis power is not from within, but rather from God. The sixth virtue of God is often linked with the seventh “might” or “strength”. The relation can be seen in a car engine as being the dunamis source of power and then the strength is when that power is implemented when the car actually moves and the “rubber hits the road.” 

     God not only has the power within Him, but He also has the strength and might to put that power into action.  Of all of the words used for power and might, dunamis is the most miraculous and other worldly!

     How have you seen God’s dunamis; that is, supernatural power, at work in your life? 

     Is it possible for God to put the “engine” of power in us and for us to only rev our engines but never “put the pedal to the metal” and go somewhere?

     Is God’s spirit a “dynamic” power within you? Why or why not? How can it be shown more dynamically in our lives?

     7. MIGHT/STRENGTH. There is not only power that belongs to God, He implements that power through His strength. After Paul spoke about the Armor of God, he concludes with a three fold power challenge. “Finally, my brethren, be strong (with dunamis power) in the Lord and in the power (forceful power as seen in Rev. 5:13) of His might (strengthening might).” Another way of looking at the difference between “power” and “might/strength” is “God has the power (dunamis) and He knows how to use it!”

     We know how to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind, but what does it look like to love God with all of our “strength” (Mark 12:30, Luke 10:27), the word used in Rev. 7:12?

     As little children we would sing, “They are weak but He is Strong.” What does that mean to us as adults?

     Conclusion: Tim LaHaye, the late End Times author of the Left Behind book series, wrote exhaustively on Christ’s second coming and the prophecies of the Bible. He lists in his Prophecy Study Bible 125 specific prophecies of Jesus first coming (see pages 1547-1551).  LaHaye specifically lists 329 direct Biblical prophecies of Christ’s Second Coming (see pages 1547-1599).

How do the nearly three times as many prophetic Scriptures promising Jesus return impact your desire to praise God for his “virtues” of Blessing, Glory, Wisdom, Thanksgiving, Riches, Honor, Power and Might?

The Revelation Song in Many Languages

Thanksgiving and Honor

     When you think of Thanksgiving, what food do you think of? When you think of turkey, what holiday do you think of? When Israel celebrated with palm branches, the people naturally thought of giving thanks, especially when they would think of the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths. 

    4. THANKSGIVING. The fourth virtue in Rev. 7:12 is Thanksgiving and it is the only one that is not also contained in Rev. 5:12. In Greek, it is eucharistia. When we think of the saints being welcomed in to heaven as they are shown in Revelation 7, it is easy to imagine them (and us) as having an attitude of thanksgiving to God. 

     Palm branches reminded the Israelites of their 40 years of wandering in the desert and living under the tabernacles and temporary shelters thatched with palms leaves and branches of trees. 

     The people ushered Christ into Jerusalem, honoring him by laying down their outer garments on the road before Jesus. Imagine the waving of palm branches coinciding with the parade and the shouts of “Hosanna” filling the air.

   That image of praise and thanksgiving is carried forward to Rev. 7:9-13. In heaven, John saw a multitude which no one could number appearing before God. They will be the believers who die during out of the Great Tribulation. 

    It is estimated that half of the world’s remaining population, currently more than 7 billion people, will die in this short intense seven-year period. Just as their white robes are miraculously furnished, the palm branches in their hands would be a natural sign to John and any Jewish reader to symbolize the thanksgiving to God. Jesus described this time in Matthew 24:21 as this: “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

    Romans 1:20-23 says, “²⁰For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, ²¹ because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” 

    What is generally a cause for a lack of thanksgiving? 

    What causes a spirit of thankfulness?”

    

     1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 

    How is it possible to give thanks in everything? 

     What is the difference in giving thanks in everything rather than for everything.

    5. HONOR. The fifth godly attribute ascribed to God in Rev. 7:12 is "honor." To honor something is to give it value, or to recognize the value of something. The word used here is sometimes translated as “price,” such as the price or value of land. 

     In the parable of “The Pearl of Great Price,” the word "price" is the same word as is translated in Rev. 7:12 as "honor." The lesson to be learned here in our study is “Do we value God? What is the ‘price’ of God? What is His honor worth to us?” 

     From our perspective, the “Pearl of Great Price” should be about Jesus. However, even if we sold everything we owned to purchase our salvation, we could not do so because our righteousness is like filthy rags before God. The true meaning of this parable is that the Kingdom of God is like God being the merchant, and seeing our lives so valuable to God. 

     1 Cor. 6:20 uses the same word for "honor" found in Revelation 7:12, “For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. ” 

    In 1 Cor. 7:20, it says, “You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.” 

     How is the honor we give to God related to the price He paid for us?

    God gave His only begotten Son to purchase us for His Kingdom. We honor and value God because He first valued us with so great a price!

     When Mary extravagantly poured out the spikenard oil to anoint Jesus' feet, some criticized her for her extravagant gift. And yet she did it because she apparently understood what the disciples seemingly missed: that Jesus Himself would soon be buried (See John 12:7, “But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.”)

     As we look towards this next week being "Holy Week", how do we express that we value and honor God? 

    The price God paid for us was the price of His only begotten Son. What honor should we give back to God in return for our salvation?

Wisdom belongs to the Lord

    What is true wisdom? Have you known people who are educated beyond their intelligence? Mark Twain said the sad thing about common sense is that it is not so common.

    Proverbs says the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. You may find numerous wise sayings, but true godly wisdom begins with knowing reverence of God.

    3. WISDOM. In Revelation 7:12 the third attribute to God praises God for His wisdom or in Greek “sophia.” This attribute of God is listed as the third attribute here and also third in Rev. 5:12. The Bible says in Luke 2:40, and again in 2:52 that when Jesus was on earth, He grew in wisdom. 

     Philippians 2 explains that Jesus who was God and equal with God, made Himself of no reputation, or as the Holman Christian Standard Bible translates it, “He emptied Himself” of some aspects of His omniscience or all-knowing attributes of wisdom when He took on flesh. If Christ grew in wisdom, how much more should we?

     While there is a realm of man’s wisdom, only God is truly wise (see Rom. 16:27). Jude 1:25 says that “To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (Found in the KJV and NKJV, but omitted in later versions).  God’s wisdom is wiser than that of man’s wisdom 

Read 1 Cor. 1:17-30. 

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent." ²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. ²⁶ For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. ²⁷ But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; ²⁸ and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, ²⁹ that no flesh should glory in His presence. ³⁰ But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God--and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—

     When the saints in Revelation extol God’s wisdom, it means that Christ possesses and exemplifies the wisdom of God which is hidden and a mystery to the world.

     Col. 2:2-3 says, “¹ For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for … (those who) have not seen my face in the flesh, ² that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, ³ in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

    In what ways is God’s wisdom greater than that of the wisest of all humans? In what ways is human wisdom different than God’s wisdom?

    If Jesus grew in wisdom while on earth, what are ways we also can grow in wisdom? Will there ever be a time in which we can stop growing in wisdom?

I clapped my hands and sang Glory!

    I cannot adequately explain "glory" but this past Tuesday, when Johnny Memphis sang "I Bowed My Knees and Cried Holy" at in our Fellowship Hall, it is a pretty good example!

    Johnny Memphis, the son of a long-time Killeen pastor and now an 'Elvis Tribute Artist,' sang for the Jesus Hope and Love Benefit and I immediately signed him up to sing at our Senior Adult Banquet on May 7. The song (click here to hear it) depicts what it will be like when we come into the presence of God in His Glory.

    2. GLORY. The second Greek word used for God by those holding palm branches also is a word we know in English, “doxa” from which we get the word “doxology” and “orthodox.” It means Glory, Splendor, Radiance. 

     Second on this list, it is also second from the last in the Rev. 5:12 passage, and like “Blessing” it is repeated in Rev. 5:13. We glorify God by praising Him for His glorious radiance and essence. 

     Paul told Titus that we are looking for the “blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). 

     Matthew 25:31 says that Jesus will come “in His glory, and with all the holy angels with Him, and He will sit on the throne of His glory.” Peter also spoke of Christ’s return as being the “glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

    Glory will come at Christ's Second Coming but it also was manifested at His First Coming, both in proclamation to and shining on the shepherds (see Luke 2:9, 14). During Jesus' earthly ministry, this glory was foreshadowed at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:31-32) and will be consummated at His Second Coming. For the New Jerusalem, the Bible says there will be no need for the sun and the moon to shine upon it for the glory of God will illuminate it.

    “What does the glory of God mean to you? In what ways can we glorify God or bring Him glory?”

    In John 17:24, Jesus prayed, “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one.” What are some practical ways that we can not only bring glory to God but that He can give us or let us share in His glory? How can we reflect His glory in our lives?

    Romans 8:18 says, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” 

   2 Cor. 4:17 says, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” How does God’s promised glory help us go through the hard times of this life?

Are you Blessed? Then be a blessing!

Seven praise-worthy attributes of God

     Today’s devotional and all this week is not about the specifics of the End Times, but rather an overview of praise-worthy attributes of God, as found in Revelation 7:9-12. 

     The exclamation of seven “virtues” of God in this passage is different than the song of the Redeemed found in Revelation 5:9-10, which will be sung by all of those who are redeemed by the Lamb of God in heaven at the beginning of the tribulation on earth. It is also a different but very similar to the praise given to Christ, the Lamb, found in Rev. 5:12-13. 

    Revelation 7:12 is specifically given by the martyrs who will sacrifice their lives during the Great Tribulation, the seven years after the rapture of the church but prior to Jesus’ Second Coming when He will establish His rule on earth. These Tribulation martyrs will be clothed in white robes in heaven and hold in their hands palm branches.  So, what are the seven praise-worthy attributes of God and how do they compare to Rev. 5:12?  

Revelation 7:12

1.       Blessing (praise, NIV) (eulogia)

2.       Glory (doxa)

3.       Wisdom (sophia)

4.       Thanksgiving (Thanks, NIV)(eucharistia)

5.       Honor  (timē)

6.       Power  (dynamis)

7.       Might (Strength, NLT, NIV, HCSB)  (ischys)

Revelation 5:12

1.       Power

2.       Riches

3.       Wisdom

4.       Strength or Might (ischys)

5.       Honor

6.       Glory

7.       Blessing or praise

    1. BLESSING. The first virtue or praise-worthy attribute of God listed is “blessing” or in the New International Version, it is translated “praise”. It is the final of the seven attributes listed in Rev. 5:12 sung by the 24 elders and angels. The Greek word is familiar to us: “eulogia” from which we get the English word “eulogy,” meaning good words, often spoken at a funeral. In this listing, praise or blessing is not what we receive from the Lord, but rather what we give to the Lord. It will be distinct from the fourth attribute of  “thanksgiving.”

    Thanking someone else shows your appreciation for that person. It shows how their goodness has blessed you. Praising someone, especially God, is different. You are simply extolling their goodness and saying "good words" about who they are. Think about times when people have said good things about you or when you have praised your child or someone else.

    How is praising God for who He is can be different from thanking God for what He has done, especially what He has done for you.

    All of these seven “virtues” or seven praise-worthy attributes are given to God in Revelation 7:12, but can also be reflected in our lives. There are numerous commands for us to give “blessings” to others (“Bless those who curse you,” Luke 6:28, for instance). 

    What are ways we can reflect the attributes of blessings or praise of God in our lives? In other words, how can we be a source of blessings to others?

    Blessing and Palm Sunday. Exalting God with “good words” of praise and blessing is different from thanking God in that we are proclaiming the good virtues of God in His character. This same word can be found in a verb form specifically used on Palm Sunday in John 12:13, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, the King of Israel” (see also Luke 19:38 and Matt. 21:9). 

     Blessing and the Second Coming. When Jesus lamented over Jerusalem and the destruction that would come upon the Jewish people, He said that this phrase of “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord,” would not be used again until His Second Coming. 

    “See,” Jesus said in Matthew 23:38-39, “Your house is left to you desolate, for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

     The New Testament in Rev. 1:7 states explicitly that at Jesus’ Second Coming, “Every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.” The Old Testament in Zech 12:10 also affirms that specifically the “house of David” will see Christ when He returns, and know it was they, the Jewish people, who pierced Him: “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.”

    How does the fact that Jesus is coming again make you want to praise and bless Him?

Palm Branches remind us our earthly "tents" will one day be "mansions"

     Why Palm Branches? When Jesus rode in to Jerusalem they waved and laid palm branches on the road before Him. True, they are a naturally made pennant banner, fit for "fans" of Jesus to wave. And in the spring warmth/heat, they also are fit for fans to wave to beat the heat. (Okay, don't groan, I promise no more puns...this devotional gets better.)

     For the next two Sundays, in observance of Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, we are taking a break from BELIEVE (the book) to concentrate on some “beliefs” we have that are not necessarily stated in our study on “BELIEVE.” This Sunday, April 9, we are at the mid-point of the final third section concentrating on ten virtues of our faith. I suggest that we look at the prophetic return of Christ and the seven “virtues” of God proclaimed by those with palm branches in Revelation 7:9.

     I use the word “virtues” in quotes because we typically think of virtues as being for people and not the Lord. Thematically, we are discussing the human virtues in chapters 21 through 30, so what better time to discuss the morally praise-worthy attributes of God?

Lesson for Adults

Palm Sunday, April 9, 2017

25.5 Seven Key “Virtues” of God

---------------------------------Key Question---------------------------------

How do worship attributes of God relate to and reflect in me?

-------------------------------Key Idea---------------------------------

By faith and obedience, God’s glorious attributes can be reflected into virtues in my life.

-----------------------------------Key Verse---------------------------------

Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, ​​Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, ​​Be to our God forever and ever. ​​Amen.”
Revelation 7:12

Background of Palm Branches and Palm Sunday

     Palm branches are prophetic of the first and second comings of Christ; that is, palm branches were used in the Triumphal Entry of Christ to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, just a week before His resurrection nearly 2,000 years ago. Also, palm branches are prophetically stated in Revelation 7:9 as being held by those who will be delivered from the Great Tribulation, just prior to Christ’s Second Coming. 

     The Old Testament prophecy can be found in Leviticus 23:40, where the Israelites were to initiate the feast of booths or tabernacles in September by taking palm branches as a symbol of rejoicing and triumph:

“‘And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of beautiful trees, branches of palm trees, the boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days.”

     Dr. Henry Morris, a prolific Biblical scholar of the early 20^th century, said the Feast of Tabernacles has great prophetical significance. As the seventh and final of the Levitical feasts, “The Feast of Tabernacles speaks of the coming eternal rest in the holy city when ‘the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people’ (Rev. 21:3)”. 

     The gospel of John records the people in Jesus’ day taking specifically “palm branches from palm trees” for His triumphal entry on the Sunday prior to His crucifixion. It appears to be a significant parallel, particularly noted by the Apostle John, who wrote both the final gospel and the final book of the New Testament.

     Palm branches remind us of the temporary tabernacles or “tents” we currently have (that is, our bodies) and that these bodies will someday be replaced with a permanent dwelling. In a sense, Christ dwelling in us is a temporary dwelling in our mortal, finite, feeble bodies. At the end of Peter’s life, he twice referred to his body as a “tent” (2 Peter 1:13, 14), the same word he used when he wanted to build a tabernacle for Moses and Elijah at the Mount of Transfiguration (see Matt. 17:4). 

12 For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things,
though you know and are established in the present truth.
13 Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent,
to stir you up by reminding you,
14 knowing that shortly I must put off my tent,
just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me.
15 Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you
always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

     Both the Feast of Tabernacles in Leviticus 23:40 and the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday cause us to look forward to Jesus’ second coming, as seen in Rev. 7:9. In that passage, it says that a “great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues,” will be in heaven before the throne of God and before Jesus, the Lamb of God.

     Also, those people will be clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands. Like at the Triumphal Entry, where the people shouted “Hosanna,” or cries for salvation, the people in heaven who have come out of the Great Tribulation (see Rev. 7:14) are also proclaiming triumph to God for the “Salvation of our God.”

    As you prepare for Palm Sunday, rejoice and give thanks to the Lord for His Salvation.