Who will not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name, for You alone are holy.  All the nations will come and worship before You, because Your righteous acts have been brought into the open.  Rev. 15:4.
 
    The basis for worship offered in this text is the public display of God's mighty and righteous acts.  At the end of history everyone will see that God has ended sin and oppression and has delivered His faithful people.  God's saving action will be so overwhelming that the redeemed will break out into the kind of spontaneous devotion best known in games of football around the world.
 
    In America the greatest act of worship occurs once a year at an event known as the Super Bowl.  The widely celebrated occasion garners the full attention of the media for at least a week.  While it is a sporting event, it has all the trappings of a grand religious festival.
 
    When it comes to the Super Bowl, the "worship committee" seeks the largest and best "church" in the country to hold the proceedings.  Millions more assemble in small groups all over the country to watch the ritual on television.  This "worship service" is so popular that people actually pay to get in!
 
    The opening music is stellar, and every single second of this "worship service" is planned like a Hollywood production.  It has no cheap PowerPoint tricks, dead spots, or boring intervals.  In fact, some people say that the special announcements scattered throughout the entire service are really the best part of the proceedings!  People carefully watch everything and everyone, and absolutely nobody sleeps during the nearly four-hour ordeal.
 
    A wonderful "Communion service," often consisting of chips and dip as well as various kinds of drinks, usually accompanies the affair, particularly when small groups watch in private homes.  People have also been known to get quite excited during certain parts of the meeting, and fitful seizures of clapping, shouting, and high-fiving are considered most appropriate behavior by the worshippers.  And long after the titanic struggle between good and evil has subsided, people from all over the country continue witnessing about the experience to their family and friends.
 
    Although this is an age of widespread unbelief, no one seems surprised to learn that the majority of Americans set aside a whole four hours to celebrate the mighty achievements of two football teams.  While God's mighty acts have not yet entered the public consciousness, the Bible helps us to know and to celebrate what He has already done for us in Christ.  So pass the chips and the dip and let the worship begin!
 
Lord, how often I allow the visible achievements of those around me to overshadow the admiration I should have for You and for what You have done for me.  I'm sorry for offering You a secondary place in my act of worship.

And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and they sang the song of the Lamb, "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty, righteous and true are Your ways, O King of the nations."  Rev. 15:3.
 
    Several times the book of Revelation describes God and the "almighty."  The English word translates a Greek compound of "all" with "powerful" or "strong."  If God is truly all-powerful, then we don't need to worry.  He can do great things with our small efforts, if we put ourselves in the place where He wants us to be.  An amazing story that comes out of Philadelphia around the year 1900 illustrates this point.
 
    A sobbing little girl stood near a small church.  She had been turned away because it was "too crowded."  "I can't go to Sunday school," she sobbed to the pastor as he walked by.  Seeing her shabby, unkempt appearance, the pastor guessed the real reason for her rejection and, taking her by the hand, led her inside and found a place for her in the Sunday school class.
 
    Some two years later the child died, and her parents called for the kindhearted pastor who had befriended their daughter to handle the final arrangements.  As her poor little body was being moved, the child's family found a worn and crumpled red purse that seemed to have been rummaged from some trash dump.  It contained 57 cents and a note, scribbled in childish handwriting, which read: "This is to help build the little church bigger so more children can go to Sunday school."
 
    For two years she had saved for this offering of love.  When the pastor tearfully read that note, he knew instantly what he would do.  Carrying the note and the cracked, red pocketbook to the pulpit, he told the story of her unselfish love and devotion.  He challenged his deacons to get busy and raise enough money for the larger building.
 
    But the story does not end there.  A newspaper learned of the incident and published an account.  A wealthy real estate agent read it and offered them a parcel of land worth many thousands of dollars.  When told that the church could not pay so much, he offered to sell it to the little church for 57 cents.  As a result, church members made large donations.  Checks came from far and wide.  Within five years the little girl's gift had increased to $250,000--a huge sum for that time.  Her unselfish love had paid large dividends.
 
    When you are in the city of Philadelphia, look up Temple Baptist Church with its seating capacity of 3,300.  And be sure to visit Temple University, which educated thousands of students.  That girl's dying gift inspired others to establish both of them.  It goes to show what the Almighty can do with 57 cents.
 
Lord, help me not to hold back in serving You because the task seems small or the outcome meager.  Give me faith in the Almighty today!

And they sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and they sang the song of the Lamb, "Great and marvelous are Your works, Lord God Almighty, righteous and true and Your ways, O King of the nations."  Rev. 15:3.
 
    The sound of singing breaks into this scene completely unexpected, especially since rivers of blood anticipate even further plagues (Rev. 14:19-15:3).  It would seem like a time to ban music and rejoicing.  But sometimes the most powerful singing occurs when nobody plans on it.
 
    It was only an audition.  That's why the session had no drums, no backup singers, and expectations.  Sam Phillips had heard about a good-looking local boy who favored ballads, knew a few guitar chords, and was blessed with the ostentatiously original name of Elvis Presley.  In his search for a new kind of sound, Phillips had run nearly every singer in Memphis through his Sun Records studio.  On that summer evening, the day after the Fourth of July, 1954, the 19-year-old Elvis was merely the next in line.
 
    Phillips asked two trusted session musicians, guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, to provide backup.  At 7:00 p.m., after a few minutes of small talk and nervous laughter, Phillips arranged the trio in a circle.  Then he asked Elvis what he wanted to play.  More nervous laughter.  Elvis knew only a few songs, and most of those he couldn't play from start to finish.  Somehow the group fumbled through "Harbor Lights," which had been a 1950 hit song for Bing Crosby.  From the control room Phillips piped up, "That's pretty good," although it wasn't.  Elvis sounded boring and mechanical.  As a result, Phillips called for a break.
 
    With the formalities suspended, Elvis picked up a guitar and started goofing around, playing an old blues song by Arthur (Big Boy) Crudup called-- "That's All Right."  Except that Elvis was not singing the blues.  He sounded almost euphoric, and the rhythm was all wrong--far too frenetic, almost wild.  With no drums, Black began slapping his bass to keep time while Moore's guitar leaped in and out of the melody line.  Sticking his head out of the control room, Phillips told the threesome to pick a place to start and keep playing.  Two nights later "That's All Right" went on Memphis radio.  Phillips had his new sound, and the era of rock and roll had begun.
 
    If Elvis Presley had not been recorded in an informal session, no one might ever have heard about him (I leave you to decide whether that would have been good or bad).  But music is most powerful when it reflects the depth of a person's unique experience.  That's the kind of song the redeemed will unexpectedly burst forth with after the plagues--the spontaneous song of deep experience.
 
Lord, deepen my experience in ways I would never expect.  I want to be able to sing the Song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.

And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and the ones who had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name stood upon the sea of glass having the harps of God.  Rev. 15:2.
 
    Many commentators have noticed the slight difference between the two references to the sea of glass in Revelation.  In Revelation 4 the sea of glass is clear as crystal, while here in Revelation 15 it is "mingled with fire."  The reference to fire (same word as the "fiery horse of the second seal) may suggest the bloody red color of the Red Sea after the destruction of the armies of Pharaoh.  Exodus 14:30, 31, says, "That day the Lord saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore.  And when the Israelites saw the great power the Lord displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant" (NIV).
 
    Sight is a blessing.  It allows us to obtain a perspective that hearing and touching alone cannot give.  One of the five senses, sight involves what photography refers to as "depth of field."  Depth of field places the object focused on in a larger context that helps us to discern clearly what we are truly seeing.
 
    For 430 years the Israelites lived in a foreign culture, subject to an oppression that altered their view of God.  As a world power Egypt was unsurpassed, and the Israelites struggled with the temptation to think that their God was as weak as they were.  The awesomeness of Egyptian polytheism had confused their minds.  They needed the plagues to set them free spiritually as much as physically.
 
    To see the Egyptian corpses on the seashore meant not only that their oppressors were dead, but that everything that Egypt stood for--wealth, splendor, intellectualism, military superiority, and religious influence--was now washed up on the sands of the Red Sea.  For so long Israel had been impressed with a mirage.  But now they could clearly see that what the Egyptians represented was inferior to the God who cared about Israel.
 
    Since the fall of His creation, the Lord has been seeking to show us His hand in the world.  All along God has permitted evil to coexist with the good, so that we might appreciate the significance of the good.  But He has also promised that, if we obediently follow Him to the Land of Promise, He will put behind us all that has sought to deceive and destroy us.  He will one day erase sin, death, and the grave (Rev. 20:6-15), and we will "see" our "spiritual Egyptians" dead on the seashore.
 
Lord, I need spiritual depth of field so that I can clearly discern truth in the midst of distracting alternatives.

 And I saw another great and astonishing sign in heaven, seven angels having the seven last plagues, because in them the wrath of God has been brought to completion.  Rev. 15:1.
 
    The book of Revelation depicts a lot of emotion.  The characters in the book are angry (Rev. 12:17; 18:3), are afraid (Rev. 11:13), rejoice (Rev. 18:20; 19:1-6), and become extremely sad (Rev. 18:9-19).  But such emotions are not limited to the earthly realm.  John portrays God as angry, furious, or wrathful (for example: Rev. 11:18; 14:10, 29; 15:1, 7; 16:1), and so is the Lamb (Rev. 6:16, 17).
 
    Depending on how one tries to catalog them, there are four to six primary emotions.  I think all would agree that the primary emotions include (1) happiness, (2) sadness, (3) anger, and (4) fear.  Denying ourselves and our loved ones the ability to express our true feelings increases the severity of physical, mental, and emotional conditions.  Children who fear expressing their sadness or their anger grow up unable to develop healthy and honest relationships.
 
    God intended feelings of anger, sadness, fear, and joy as a protection and a release.  They are part of His design for us.  When we deny the reality of what we feel, we force ourselves to live a form of self-deception.  It also results in consequences for others.  Families fall apart when members suppress feelings for fear of hurting or breaking the relationship.  It produces either dishonest relationships or no relationships at all.
 
    A woman in her late fifties had just had an extensive mastectomy.  Not only was she frightened, fearful that she might die--she was also extremely sad, grieving for the parts of her body she no longer possessed.  In addition, she felt angry that such a terrible thing had happened to her.  Emotional, mental, and physical pain flooded her world.  Although she wanted desperately to talk about her feelings to her husband, a typical "strong" American male, he would have none of it. 
 
    "You'll be fine," he says.  "Everything will be all right."
 
    Her husband couldn't express his own fear and anger, so he wouldn't let her do so either.  When the chaplain came, he dominated the conversation so the painful emotions couldn't come out.  In the process, he robbed his wife of the chance to unburden her soul in the mistaken conviction that strong Christians bear their suffering quietly.
 
    We can begin to achieve God's design by expressing our feelings to God.  Jesus did that on the cross (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34).  God can take it.  He prefers an honest disagreement to a dishonest submission!  And He already knows how you feel, so it is safe.  Feelings can hurt, but they can also bring us healing, togetherness, and love.
 
Lord, here's how I really feel inside today...

And I saw another great and astonishing sign in heaven, seven angels having the seven last plagues, because in them the wrath of God has been brought to completion.  And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire, and the ones who had overcome the beast and his image and the number of his name stood upon the sea of glass having the harps of God.  Rev. 15:1, 2.
 
    As we have seen, this passage introduces the great final plagues of earth's history.  They fall on those who have rejected God and hurt His followers.  But like the original Exodus from Egypt, the mighty power of God delivers His people.  While terrible things happen in the name of God, Revelation teaches us that even His plagues are acts of compassion to warn the unrepentant and to deliver the faithful.
 
    David Kosoff tells the story of a famous rabbi who swapped places and clothing with his driver, Samuel, before visiting a synagogue.  Upon their arrival the members of the synagogue immediately gathered around Samuel, thinking he was the renowned scholar.  During refreshments the leaders of the synagogue flattered him and hung on his every word.
 
    Relishing his newfound fame, Samuel refused to abandon the charade when it came time for the lecture.  With misplaced self-confidence, he sauntered into the synagogue to expound upon the Talmud, one of the most important of Jewish writings.
 
    The elders opened the book to an extremely difficult passage and asked Samuel to explain it.  But he couldn't even read the Hebrew script, much less interpret it!  It looked as if the ruse was up.  But desperation sharpened Samuel's wit, and after examining the text for a moment, he said, "I'm surprised that you ask me to explain such a simple passage. Even my uneducated driver could deal with this!"  Then he waved the "driver" forward to interpret the text, which he, of course, did with ease.
 
    Most of us occasionally find ourselves in difficulties that are beyond our ability to fix.  At such times it is good for us to have a "driver" who is far smarter and stronger than we are.  One of the major purposes of the book of Revelation is to convince us that God is able to handle any problem, and that no matter how bad things get He will win the victory in the end.  In spite of our weaknesses, we can move ahead with confidence, knowing that a great God will see us through.
 
Lord, I resonate with the story of the rabbi and his driver.  So often in my life I have allowed myself to get into situations that are bigger than I can deal with.  Thank You for the assurance that there is no problem too big for You to handle.  Help me to trust myself completely to Your care today.

And the angel swung his sickle into the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth and threw them into the great winepress of the wrath of God.  And they were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out from the winepress up to the horses' bridles for about 1,600 stadia.  Rev. 14:19, 20.
 
    It was my first day in ministry.  The personal witness mentor of the church organization that had hired me offered to spend the day with me.  Not having a high degree of confidence in how to approach people, I was delighted to accept.  He suggested that he would take the lead at first in showing me how to knock on doors and engage the people in conversation.  We would be distributing health magazines the first day.
 
    The magazine he brought that day had information about the dangers of smoking.  On the cover were two pictures, one of a healthy lung and the other of a lung seriously corroded by decades of smoking.  When a person came to the door, he would show them the front of the magazine and ask, "Do you smoke?"  If the person did, he would point to the pictures and say, "Here is a healthy lung, and here is a smoker's lung."  The people we visited would invariably react with horror and disgust.  They eagerly accepted the free magazine.
 
    The next week I returned with him to follow up the visits.  Every person who had accepted the magazine had quit smoking!  The view of the pictures and the accompanying text had motivated them to drastic action.  Most of them thanked us profusely for drawing this information to their attention.  They were confident that our visit had led them to increased control over their decisions and choices.
 
    I kept visiting the homes and bringing more magazine on various subjects.  But a surprising thing happened a couple weeks later.  All the people who had quit smoking sheepishly admitted that they had started up again about two weeks after the initial contact.  Evidently fear is a powerful motivator, but its effect seems to last only about two weeks!
 
    The image of the winepress in this text is truly horrific.  John seems determined to scare anyone sitting of the fence of indecision into radical obedience to Christ.  The lines are clearly drawn, the wicked will be destroyed, and those who are wise will choose Christ now and reorder their lives now.  Fear as a motivator is powerful--but it doesn't last.  If reading Revelation has motivated you to a changed life, don't hesitate or make a halfhearted decision.  You need to go all out while the motivation lasts.  By committing yourself fully to Christ and reorienting your life, new habits may form, and you may break through the wall of weakness when the fear wears off.  "Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts" (Heb. 3:8, NIV).
 
Lord, help me not to shy away from drastic action today.

 And another angel came out of the temple that is in heaven.  He also had a sharp sickle.  Yet another angel came out from the altar, having authority over fire.  He called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Swing your sharp sickle and gather the grape clusters from the vineyard of the earth, because its clusters of grapes have ripened."  Rev. 14:17, 18.
 
    We find a major structural parallel between the end-time scene of Revelation 13 and 14 and Joel 2:28-3:21.  If you want to understand Revelation, you need to know something about the book of Joel.  1. Joel depicts the Spirit being poured out.  2. He notes the appearance of heavenly signs.  3. The nations of the world who gather outside Jerusalem attack "the remnant."  4. Finally, God pronounces judgment from Mount Zion and "threshes" those opposed to His people.  The story on Joel 3 is about a double worldwide gathering.  The remnant assemble on Mount Zion (Jerusalem-- Joel 2:32; 3:1).  The wicked gather in the Valley of Jehoshaphat, just outside Jerusalem, where they meet their fate (Joel 3:2, 9-17).
 
    The book of Revelation matches the story line of Joel: 1. God pours the Spirit out (Rev. 5:6).  2. Heavenly signs occur (Rev. 6:12-7:3).  3. The nations of the world attack the remnant on Mount Zion (Rev. 13:8-10, 12-18; 14:1-3).  4. The nations are trampled and destroyed outside Jerusalem.  So Revelation 13 and 14 seem to build on Joel 2 and 3.
 
    Both passages picture the final battle of earth's history in local and literal terms.  Jerusalem stands on a hilltop and is surrounded by valleys on three sides.  God's people are huddled together inside the fortress, encircled on all side by enemy forces.  In the interpreting of Revelation this local picture has become worldwide and spiritual (notice the word "earth" six times in this part of the chapter).  Israel huddled in the fortress of Jerusalem becomes the worldwide church in hiding during the final crisis.  John spiritualizes the double gathering of Joel into those who follow the three angels' messages and those who do not.
 
    The images of warfare in Revelation are a spiritual matter for the Christian (see 2 Cor. 10:3-5 and Rev. 16:15).  The weapons of the Christian warfare are not the kind that tear you to pieces, such as AK-47 rifles, M1A1 tanks, and F-11 warplanes.  Christian warfare is a battle with one's own thought processes, ideas, and attitudes.  It is a struggle for the mind.  Sin is so attractive and deceptive that God has laid out its consequences graphically in this text to get us to take the battle seriously.
 
Lord, in this vision You have given us a small glimpse of two contrasting groups at the end of the world.  Help me to firmly align myself with the wheat, the remnant, and the 144,000 of this chapter.

And another angel came out of the temple, shouting with a loud voice to the one sitting on the cloud, "Swing your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe!"  And the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.  Rev. 14:15, 16.
 
    The "Son of man" sitting on a cloud (Rev. 14:14) represents the second coming of Jesus.  Although the passage does not employ terms such as wheat or grain, the imagery implies a grain harvest.  Later the chapter (Verses 17-20) depicts a grape harvest, with the subsequent juicing of the grapes.  The grain harvest of this text represents the gathering up of the righteous to be with Jesus.  They are "the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth" (verse 3, NIV).  For the human race, the second coming of Jesus is the ultimate "way out" from its painful condition.
 
    Growing up in New York City, I quickly learned that the best way to get around town was to ride the subway.  Driving is slow, parking is expensive, and it sometimes takes longer to find a place to park than it would have required to walk the entire trip!  And then you still have to get from the parking place to wherever you really want to go.
 
    The subways, on the other hand, are noisy, crowded, and sometimes smelly, but they take you rapidly to wherever you want to go for a reasonable fee.  The underground caverns are vast, often several levels deep, with shopping and eating places along the way.  For the first-time visitor it can be extremely confusing.  The various subway lines employ all kinds of symbols, and a division exists between express and local trains.  I have often wowed visitors by walking them through the seemingly impenetrable labyrinth without difficulty or incident.
 
    While entering and making your way around the subway system can be confusing, the way out is very clear if you read English.  No matter how deep you go, you can always look for the words "to street" or "exit to street."  If you follow those signs you will find your way to outside air and light eventually.  For visitors, getting back to the street can be as joyous as a resurrection!  You have risen up, as if from a vast underground tomb, to the bustling life of the New York streets.  As soon as you get off the train, and at every possible juncture, the words "to street" point the way to the freedom of sunlight and open air. 
 
    Life today can be as confusing as finding your way around the subways of New York.  But no matter how complex our lives may have become, the Word of God points us to Jesus.  He is always there.  If you take time to connect with Him, He will be there to guide you where you need to go.  Jesus will bring your day into His light.  And if you make it a habit to look for Him each day, He will one day lead you out to the streets of gold!
 
Lord, show me the way out of the problems and difficulties I am facing today.

 And I looked, and saw a white cloud, and upon the cloud One like a Son of man was sitting; He had a golden victory crown on His head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Rev. 14:14.
 
    When all is said and done in the book of Revelation, everything ends up with the Son of man, Jesus.  He is the Lamb, the Bright and Morning Star, the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.  But in a secular, postmodern world people like to say, "Show me the money!"  They want to know why they should follow Jesus in the midst of all the excitement and distractions of life in this world.  The following may help to put things into perspective.
 
    Can you name the man who won the Oscar for best actor in 2002?  How about the best player in the championship game of the past five World Cup tournaments?  Do you remember the name of Miss America or Miss World for the year 2000?  Can you name five people who have won a Nobel Prize in the sciences?  What about the name of the team that won the World Series or the Super Bowl for each of the past 10 years?  While I am interested in what is going on in the world, I can't answer a single one of those questions.  Can you?
 
    The shocking thing is that none of the above occurred on the sidelines.  The answers to these questions filled headlines all over the world for at least a week.  We are not talking about ordinary people.  And yet most of us have already forgotten them.  Why?  Because as famous as they may have been, what they did didn't truly change our lives.  Their achievements cause headlines, but did not make a difference over time.
 
    Let's try this game once more.  Can you name three teachers or mentors whose ideas changed your life?  Can you name three friends who have been with you in hard times, who have made you feel valuable and appreciated?  Can you name the person you most enjoy spending time with?  Can you name a couple people whose stories have inspired you to be a better person than you might otherwise have been?  How did you do on this quiz?  Was it easier to supply names this time around?  It certainly was for me.  Why?  Because these people have all made a difference in my life.  I would not be what I am today if it had not been for them.
 
    That's why the book of Revelation is so obsessed with Jesus.  For nearly 2,000 years, no one has changed this world more than Jesus.  Through His death, resurrection, and heavenly reign He has altered the world and transformed my life.  I may care about who will win the World Series this year, but Jesus is the one that will still matter to me 10 years from now.  If you are spending time with this book, you probably know what I'm talking about.
 
Lord, I an placing Revelation's picture of You at the center of my attention today.  Thank You for the difference You are making in my life.