Christ Praised When the Wicked Are Damned

And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. - Revelation 19:1-6

    'And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever' (Revelation 19:1-3)

    Try to picture the scene John has described. Judgment has come. The wicked have been cast into hell. And the saints of God are singing and shouting the praises of God with joy because of his true and righteous judgments upon the wicked. What an awesome scene! As eternity commences, the saints of God in heaven are rejoicing and praising him for the damnation of the wicked. This passage of Holy Scripture declares this fact most plainly: The eternal torments of the damned will be a subject of eternal praise among the redeemed.

    Who will sing this song

    This song is sung by a great multitude in heaven. It is the same multitude we have seen throughout this book before the throne of God. It is the whole church of God’s elect in heaven (18:20; 19:1-4). This is that elect multitude who sing the praises of God for his great salvation - The 144,000 sealed ones (7:3-4, 9-10). These are the men and women who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation on the earth, who praise God for his distinguishing grace in Christ (5:9-10). These are the blessed dead who have died in the Lord, having kept the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus (14:3-8, 12-13). This is that great multitude which has lived and died in every generation for the Word of God and the testimony of his grace (6:9-11).

    The day of retribution has come and these chosen, redeemed, saved, glorified souls are singing over the very souls of the damned for whom they once prayed and labored anxiously, with loving hearts. There is Christ, singing over Jerusalem for whom he once wept. There is Paul, singing over his kinsmen for whom he was willing to die. There is David, singing over Absalom for whom he once sobbed. All the prophets are singing! All the apostles are singing! All the saints are singing! All the angels are singing! All are singing because of the judgment of God upon the wicked!

    What is the theme of this song (v. 3)

    The word ‘alleluia’ means ‘praise Jehovah!’ So the theme of this song is the praise of the Lord our God for all that he is and all that he does. ‘Alleluia’ is an expression of great joy. It appears that the saints in heaven never get weary of their heavenly employment. Again and again they sing, ‘Alleluia!’ ‘Amen!’ ‘Alleluia!’ ‘Praise the Lord!’ It is the great joy of God’s saints in heaven to praise God for his wonderful works. This word, ‘Alleluia,’ is also an expression of admiration and wonder. Every glorious view of Christ, every act of his hand, every word of his mouth, every revelation of his character, every display of his majesty, greatness, power, and glory causes the souls of the redeemed to burst out with another song of praise, saying, ‘Alleluia,’ for his salvation (v. 1), his attributes (v. 1), his judgments (vv. 2-4), and his sovereignty (v. 6).

    What is the occasion of the song

    What is the event that here causes God’s saints to burst out in joyful praise? Here God’s saints are shouting, singing, and rejoicing over the fall of antichrist, Babylon, all false religion. Babylon is the mixing of everything together, stirring it well, and calling it Christianity. It is the religion of the world. If sin is damning its thousands, religion today is damning its tens of thousands. But one of these days God is going to get around to judging this thing called ‘religion,’ which has corrupted the earth with her fornication and persecuted his saints in every age. In our text, God has finally caught up with religion. And after antichrist, Babylon, and all the promoters and followers of free-will, works religion are cast into hell, God is still on his throne. The saints are happy about that, and shout, ‘Amen! Alleluia!’ The world will mourn forever over Babylon’s fall. But the saints of God will rejoice forever over her fall, for then God will have ‘avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.’ The people who are singing are the saints of God. The theme of their song is the praise of God. The occasion for their song is the judgment of God.

    What does this song teach us

    This song of praise to Christ is a song about the eternal ruin of rebel sinners. It is about the torments of the damned in hell. Here God’s saints are singing, and singing with joy, because of the damnation of men and women who refused to bow to and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. Surely, the fact that this song is recorded upon the pages of inspiration is meant to be a special means of instruction. Here is an awesome fact: When the wicked are damned, the saints will sing. What are we to learn from this fact?

    There is an appointed day of judgment when God will judge all men by the man Christ Jesus (Ps. 7:11-13; 11:5-7; acts 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10-11; heb. 9:27)

    The first message of the cross is this: A holy, righteous, and just God must punish sin. God’s law must be honored. His righteousness must be vindicated. And the Judge who will execute wrath upon guilty sinners is that One who was made to be sin and died in the place of sinners, Jesus Christ our Lord (John 5:22).

    There is a place of eternal torment, where every rebel, every unbeliever, shall suffer the wrath of God (Luke 16:23)

    I don’t know what hell is or where hell is. But hell is real, more real than anyone has ever imagined. Hell is a place of endless pain, agony, and torment, where men and women forever suffer the just and righteous retribution of God’s holy wrath.

    The judgment of the wicked and the eternal torments of the damned will take place in the sight of the redeemed (Matt. 25:31-46; Luke 13:28; 16:22; Isa. 66:23-24; Rev. 14:10)

    Hell will be within the very sight of heaven! The wicked will be cast into hell before the eyes of the redeemed! In that awesome day, pastors and congregations will stand face to face before the bar of God and witness one another’s condemnation or acquittal. Parents shall be witnesses to the condemnation or acquittal of their children. Children shall stand to witness the condemnation or acquittal of their parents. Husbands and wives shall witness each other’s condemnation or acquittal. And it will be no matter of grief to the righteous to see the wicked condemned. Our tears will be over. Our sorrows will be past. We will see them condemned. We will see the terror on their faces. We will hear their screams and cries of agony. Yet, we will not shed a tear (Rev. 21:4). Indeed, when the wicked are cast into hell, we will say, ‘Amen! Alleluia!’ (Ps. 91:7-8).

    The judgment of God upon the wicked, so far from causing grief among the saints, will be a matter of everlasting joy to the redeemed (18:20)

    Judgment will be a matter of endless praise in heaven. We will sing and shout, ‘Hallelujah!’ And the smoke of their torments, rising up forever, shall be cause for endless praise to our God (Ex. 14:30-15:1).

    Why will God’s elect sing his praises when the wicked are damned

    Obviously, it is not because they love to see human pain. or because they are mean and vindictive. Rather, it is because in that day, we will have the mind of God. ‘The righteous Lord loveth righteousness.’ It is only right for the righteous God to punish sin. God has made all things for himself, for the glory of his name. All must serve the cause of his glory. All will glorify the God of heaven, either in salvation, or in damnation. All who refuse to trust Christ and be saved by God’s free grace must be damned to the praise of his glory. Yes, God’s saints will praise him forever for the damnation of the wicked, because by their eternal ruin wicked men will forever glorify God. The damnation of the wicked will glorify the justice of God. The ruin of the wicked will glorify the majesty of God. The torments of the damned will glorify the power of God. And the eternal ruin of the wicked in hell will be an eternal reminder to the saints of the debt we owe to God for his matchless grace!