Revelation 15:4, commentary and pictures

God alone is holy, and for His great and marvelous works and His just and true ways as King, all shall revere Him and glorify His name. All nations shall come and worship before Him because when His judgments are fully made manifest every question of truth and error is made plain through the laid-open results of rebellion and the contrast between Satan's rule and God's government, vindicating His wisdom, justice and goodness. At the final judgment every lost soul sees his rejection of truth with every excuse swept away, and the whole universe, loyal and rebellious, unites to revere God and glorify His name, with Satan himself acknowledging his sentence just and God standing clear of all blame for evil. It is the closing words of the song of Moses and the Lamb sung with harps of God by those standing on a sea of glass mingled with fire who have gotten the victory over the beast and his image and his mark by keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus and overcoming by the blood of the Lamb. The fear it calls for is not slavish dread but thankful, joyous reverence that watches and waits and gladly obeys, giving God the service of every entrusted faculty and seeking the unveiling of His character in daily life and in His Word.

Setting and Singers

These are the closing words of the song of Moses the servant of God and the song of the Lamb, sung with the harps of God by those who have gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, as they stand on a sea of glass mingled with fire at the appearing of the seven angels having the seven last plagues in which the wrath of God is filled up. It is the closing praise declaring that all shall fear the Lord and glorify His name because He only is holy, and that all nations shall come and worship before Him because His judgments are made manifest. Each day a person decides what shall be written in the books of heaven, and that daily record determines whether he will stand in that victorious company.

In prophetic order it stands between the sign of the seven angels having the seven last plagues and the opening of the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony from which those seven angels come forth. It belongs with the first, second, and third angels' messages to be proclaimed and explained with zeal. It is part of the prophecies of Revelation 12 to 18 being fulfilled while all are to hear the last message of warning, and it belongs to the pouring out of the plagues after Jesus leaves the sanctuary, which are the wrath of God and the Lamb bringing destruction or death upon the wicked.

The singers are the loyal and true who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus and keep the word of Christ's patience. They do not bow to decrees of earthly rulers against the authority of the King of heaven, refusing to worship the beast and his image or receive his mark in forehead or hand, refusing an idol sabbath and a papal institution. They overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and love not their lives unto death. Theirs is the song celebrating final victory and deliverance after deadly conflict with the powers of the beast.

Their victory comes through trials endured for truth's sake and unyielding firmness in adhering to the commandments against earthly governments presented as a great red dragon, a leopard-like beast, and a beast with lamblike horns that trample God's law, persecute His people, and seek to force them to disobedience. In contrast they are symbolized by a holy woman and her children, greatly in the minority, only a remnant in the last days who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus. The vision shows their position, dangers, conflicts, and final deliverance at the very close of time, with the closing message that ripens the harvest of the earth. They sing when salvation and strength and the kingdom of God and the power of Christ have come and the accuser of the brethren is cast down, after being kept from the hour of temptation that tries all the world.

It is the chorus sung together by the angelic choir, the inhabitants of the universe, and the redeemed host when they stand in the presence of God crowning Him Lord of all. The ransomed will sing it in the life to come out of their own experience, when everyone in His temple speaks of His glory. Joined in that chorus they praise His works as great and marvelous and His ways as just and true as King of saints, declaring that honor and glory belong to God alone because the things for which men are exalted in this world are from Him.

The song was sung in united voice by the heavenly host at the tomb on the morning of Christ's resurrection, as a mighty angel had before sung triumph at His birth, celebrating the manifestation of His judgments in raising Christ the life-giving One who endured the cross for the joy set before Him, witnessed by Roman guards who fainted as dead men. It will be sung when earthly warfare is accomplished and the saints are all gathered home, after the day just about to burst upon us when God's mysteries will be seen and justice, mercy, and love will be seen as attributes of His throne. Its first theme is Moses the servant of God and its second theme is the Lamb, the song of grace and redemption, in louder, loftier, sublimer strains echoing and re-echoing through the heavenly courts, a new song never before sung in heaven. Thus it sings God's providence connecting the varying dispensations without a veil between the legal, the prophetical, and the gospel, with church history on earth and the church redeemed in heaven all centering around the cross with Christ all and in all in anthems from thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand and an innumerable company. It points to those who lost their lives for truth raised to everlasting life in God's city, while their persecutors remain outside grieving to see them accepted.

What the Song Declares

Thou only art holy, and therefore all shall fear and glorify the name for great and marvelous works and for just and true ways as King of saints. The honor given to man is due to God alone, for all glory belongs to Him, since the things for which men are exalted in this world are from Him. Position does not prepare anyone for entrance into the heavenly courts and does not make anyone fit for them. Standing in the presence of God, the redeemed will see how short-sighted were their conclusions as to what heaven records as success, how foolish were their plans, how petty their trials, how unreasonable their doubts and how unnecessary their conflicts, and how often they brought failure upon themselves by not taking God at His word.

All nations shall come and worship before Him because His judgments are made manifest, and when they are fully revealed all will recognize His holiness and glorify Him. Then every question of truth and error is made plain to all created intelligences, loyal and rebellious, through the laid-open results of rebellion and the fruits of setting aside the divine statutes. The contrast presented to the whole universe between Satan's rule and God's government vindicates God's wisdom, justice, and goodness. All will see that His dealings were for the eternal good of His people and of all created worlds, and with one accord declare His ways just and true as King of saints.

At the final judgment every lost soul understands the nature of his rejection of truth, with the cross and its meaning laid open before every mind blinded by transgression and every lying excuse swept away. Human apostasy is then seen in its heinous character, and each person sees what his choice has been. When the thoughts of all hearts are revealed, both the loyal and the rebellious unite in revering God and glorifying His name because His righteous judgments have been made manifest. Satan himself acknowledges that his sentence is just, condemned by his own works. In the judgment of the universe God stands clear of blame for the existence or continuance of evil, with it demonstrated that the divine decrees are not accessory to sin and that there was no defect in His government and no cause for disaffection. The history of sin stands to eternity as witness that the happiness of all created beings is bound up with the existence of God's law.

His character is expressed in the positive declaration of His law, which is the infallible standard regulating conduct toward God in complete sanctification of mind and will, and this makes His name worthy of fear and glory. Acceptance with God does not rest on human merits or capabilities but on accepting the light that comes from God and working with it. That acceptance will be a test of character for the church.

Reverence in Daily Life

The fear called for is not slavish dread but thankful, joyous fear that leads to watching and waiting and working, always ready to obey God gladly and thankfully. He alone is holy and therefore worthy to be feared and glorified for works that are great and marvelous and ways that are just and true. Every faculty of the being and every part of the body testifies to the righteousness of the Creator's claims. He therefore has the right to the service of the beings He has created and to expect them to glorify Him with every entrusted capability by placing themselves in His service and letting Him direct the use of His absolute property.

It is the cry He inspires in everyone who has perfect trust in Him. He puts desire and devotion and fervor in the soul to seek the revealing of Himself, so that as far as finite beings can they behold the unveiling of His power and glory in the perfection of His character, and that sight moves them to fear Him and glorify His name. It is the language of the soul that looks to God, seeks to honor Him, and receives more light through studying His Word. Such reverent fear and glorifying of His name answer His great and marvelous works and His just and true ways as King of saints.

Reverence for God and honor to His name rise as praise and thanksgiving from seeing tokens of His love and care on every hand. To look upon His works as evidences of His love and goodness is a great privilege to be pointed to. Parents should teach their children to look from nature to nature's God, so that seeing His goodness leads their hearts out in this song.

Each day a person decides what shall be written in the books of heaven, and that daily record determines whether he will stand in the victorious company declaring His works great and marvelous and His manifested judgments drawing all nations to worship. That company is those who have gotten the victory over the beast and over his image and over his mark and over the number of his name, standing on a sea of glass mingled with fire with the harps of God when the seven angels having the seven last plagues in which the wrath of God is filled up are shown. Keeping close to the great Leader keeps sight of His providence over the church and the world and over each individual that the song declares. Losing Him brings bewilderment over profound mysteries in the divine dealings until everything is made plain to loyal hearts when earthly warfare is accomplished and the saints are all gathered home.