Dennis L. Finnan Commentator
"The World, the Word & You! Broadcast"

TWO SONGS TO COME

““HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHAT ‘MUSIC’ GOD LIKES? TODAY WE ARE FLOODED WITH A VARIETY OF MUSIC, GOOD AND BAD, EACH WITH CLAIMS THAT GOD EXCLUSIVELY FAVORS THEIRS. ” 

 I’m Dennis Finnan, host and speaker on the World, the Word & You! Broadcast, and in a moment we’ll talk about MUSIC, and find the argument is settled, in the Book of Revelation; And, in a moment we’ll explore this…

…Does God like music? Well, I’ve got good news for you. The Bible is filled with revelation that God delights in music and in the musical offerings of His people. You see music recurs repeatedly in Scripture, regardless of which book in the Old or New Testament it is found. Why even at the time of the  “creation” of all things, we discover God initiated music to accompany His Creative act, itself. We read of this in,

Job 38:4-7 (NASB)  “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, 5 Who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? 6 “On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Even more dramatic is what the Psalmist declared by divine revelation in the Psalms, especially,

Psa 98:4 (NASB) “Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth; Break forth and sing for joy and sing praises.”

It is therefore, my joy today to bring you a message on the subject of music, but one which you might not have expected, for in the last Book of the Bible we discover God has written TWO SONGS TO COME, that will be sung forever and ever to the praise and glory of God. After we pause for this worshipful contemporary praise song that was written from this passage of Scripture, I’ll return to share with you about these two amazing songs, the redeemed of all ages will sing, for this is ¾  the music God likes…

…Our song just sung, was taken from the book of Isaiah chapter six, which in effect catapults us into the book of Revelation to find the amazing songs God loves to hear, songs which the redeemed of all ages will sing before Him. Indeed, God will never tire of these songs, nor need new contemporary ones to keep each generation of His children going. No, these songs found here will be the basis of all living and life to come for all eternity. Sound interesting? Good, then if you have a bible, open it to the Book of Revelation, or just listen and I’ll read and tell you all about it.

My text for today’s talk and commentary, is found in two rather fact filled chapters in the Book of Revelation. In chapters 4-5, we discover two songs that are sung by the redeemed of the Lord. Let’s read of them now. The first is found in,

Rev 4:6-11 (NASB)  and before the throne [of God the Father]  there was, as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around the throne, four living creatures … and day and night they do not cease to say [sing], “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.” 9 And when the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, to Him who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders will fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”

You see Heaven is a real place. It is a place of worship, and worship is always filled with the praises and songs of the saints. Now, today, we have differing ideas of what worship is. Some make it a rock concert of base human experience and fleshly titillation. Others attempt to make it surrealistic in the sense of severely structured music that restricts every facet of the human senses and emotions. But nonetheless, worship according to the Bible is to be filled with the musical praises of the saints to God all that He is and has done. This is exactly what Revelation chapters four and five do. Now as time is short, let’s summarize these chapters to get to the gist of today’s talk.

The events described here in Revelation are often overlooked in many a study. Yet it is an important revelation God wants all to know about. The time period of course is future. John the apostle was given the opportunity, in a vision God gave Him, to travel far into the future and visit the glorious place called God’s Heaven. Yes, somewhere high in the heavens, outside the universe itself, we are told there is a Throne! Seated upon this throne is the Creator God of the Universe. Here in the text, we immediately discover the center of God’s place of abode is this throne of God referred to eight times in the first six verses, and eighteen times in both chapters of Revelation 4-5. Now before this throne every living creature that was created and abides there, worships the One seated on it. Now because Heaven, God Himself and the glorious reality of supernatural existence beyond the realm of our senses is described here, John tells us about it through his own eyes and senses set in the time period of his own existence. He can do nothing less or more. What intrigued me most is, here around the throne of God the Father, we discover the saints are singing and making music that pleases God. There are two songs sung here I’d like to comment on. The first is found in,

Rev 4:11 (NASB)  “Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”

This might well be called the “Creation Hymn.” In the Old Testament, God moved upon King David and some others to write a hymnbook for God’s elect people, Israel, to be used in their worship of God. This hymnbook is called the Book of Psalms. Of course, it was written in Hebrew for the Israeli people, and as such we have not had the music itself preserved for us. Why? Well, obviously God was not as interested in the melodies that were to accompany it, as the particular words of praise that were to be sung. However, in the Book of Revelation, which is cast in the future, particularly Revelation Chapters 4-5, are set at the time on earth when the Great Tribulation that is future is in full swing. Probably near the end of it, the saints of old and the martyred believers of the Tribulation Period that were slain, all give praise to God in this “Creation Hymn.”

Yes, God is indeed interested in music, and the purpose of music that God enjoys is that it is filled with joyful praise for who He is and what He has done.

This first song to be sung by the redeemed, is centered on the “creative acts” of God. Of course, sinful godless man has invented a different song to be sung to the mindless god of random chance. The world of mankind which rejects God and will not be at this praise service in Heaven, believe and teach the world came into being with no design, nor Designer! By rejecting the God of Creation, they teach that evolution, which of course is a god itself, brought all things into existence. Nothing my friends, can be more stupid, ignorant and foolish than to teach this absolutely unprovable, but wicked and diabolical fairy tale! Now Heaven and God’s revelation, the Bible tell us, was the creation of God  who again, created all things,

Gen 1:1 (NASB)  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

There you have it, seven words of perfection and completion. Nothing more needs to be said to intelligent beings. In Revelation chapter four, the Redeemed offer praise upon praise for God’s Creation work. In fact, the Bible only has two themes, did you know that? The first theme is (1) the work of Creation, and the second theme is (2) the work of Redemption. That in a nutshell, is what God’s purposeful revelation is all about. Now this first of two song sung, glorifies God for His “Creative” acts. We discover that after God finished the Creation, and the angels sung to the glory of God, during its foundational work (Job 38:4-7) we read in,

Gen 1:31- 2:1 (NASB)  “And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts.”

God was pleased with what He had created. He gave life to varying creatures in Heaven and on the earth. Now, His highest creation was man, did you know that? Yes, even above the powerful angels in Heaven as varying as they are. We discover they are seated around the throne and apparently with some of the glorified saints chosen to rule with God – they praise Him night and day in songs and words of praise.

Rev 4:8 (NASB)  And the four living creatures, each one of them having six wings, are full of eyes around and within; and day and night they do not cease to say, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

John, the apostle, was at a loss to describe these creatures he had never seen before, so his words are his best attempt to declare how glorious they appeared. But, after John saw the saints of old, the Old and New Testament saints, before the throne, and the martyred Tribulation saints, John noticed a proclamation was made. We read of this in,

Rev 5:1-2 (NASB)  And I saw in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne a book written inside and on the back, sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book and to break its seals?”

Strangely, upon that proclamation no one of all the creation was able to stand and claim his worthiness to open this magnificent “book.,” until… the search of heaven found, the glorious GOD/MAN, the resurrected and living Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. Listen to God’s Word that tells us,

Rev 5:5-7 (NASB)  and one of the elders said^ to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals”…  7 And He came, and He took it out of the right hand of Him [God the Father] who sat on the throne.

Who is this Heavenly One, worthy to open the book of ownership of the earth? There is no need to speculate for from the descriptions given, they describe only one special Creation, Jesus of Nazareth, now glorified, for it is God Himself in human form. Yes, the creation hymn sung before the Father God, to glorify the wonders of His work, now will shift to another song to be sung. This time it is (2) the song of Redemption.  Indeed, God the Father created and brought forth the amazing life of Himself in human flesh, for a specific purpose, to redeem lost humanity that had fallen into sin and was now condemned to die for all eternity for breaking the immutable laws of God. You see God is perfect, pure and holy, and without sin and its stain of any kind.

So is His Heavenly abode; as such, no one can enter or abide there that is not like God Himself. Realize this, when Adam and Eve sinned, we must remember they broke God’s laws of the universe, and as such became unclean, unworthy, and unsuitable for living forever in God’s presence. What’s worse Adam and Eve were the very first creation of humanity, the image of God, and once they sinned, they refashioned their existence into sinners, which effected not only their minds and hearts, but their very creation itself. We are told of this calamity and awful consequence,

Rom 5:12 (NASB)  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—

You and I, we all come from the very seed of Adam. When God created Adam, in him the seminal seed, God created all the souls and spirits of all mankind ever to exist. Each generation brings forth another human life, but no longer in the perfection of Adam and Eve in their pure and perfect Creation. We are further told,

Gen 5:3 (NASB)  When Adam had lived one hundred and thirty years, he became the father of a son in his own likeness, according to his image, and named him Seth.

What was “his image and likeness?” The Bible says Adam was now a sinner, condemned to die, under a judgment awaiting sentencing. It affected his whole being body and soul.

Gen 2:17 (NASB)  but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.”

Gen 5:5 (NASB)  So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

Yes, death began its reign of terror, but it did not end with physical death. In Revelation we are told there is a second death all unsaved sinners will face after what the Bible calls the Great White Throne Judgment. Listen again to its description God tells us about it,

Rev 20:11-15 (NASB)  And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and the heavenlies fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things, which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead, which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

The peril of mankind is, we are all dying and although we will be separated from our earthly bodies by this first death, a greater death or separation awaits all sinful mankind called the “Second Death,” which will one day separate us from the love, care and provision of God and His Heaven for all eternity. Jesus warned mankind of this time and time again. Once He used a startling illustration by saying,

Mat 18:9 (NASB)  “And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into the fiery hell.

Now Jesus wasn’t saying we are to do such a drastic thing, but “if” possible, and it isn’t, but if it were possible to gain Heaven and lose the judgment of Hell by it – do it! For the greatest pain, suffering, and anguish of eternity cannot be worth keeping anything in this life as precious as it might be. But… THANKS BE TO GOD, although the human race is condemned by our sins and disobedience to God, Revelation chapter five records a second song the redeemed sing. It is called the song of Redemption. Listen carefully to its words to be sung in Heaven on that Day.

Rev 5:9-14 (NIV)  And they sang a new song: “You (Christ the Lamb of God]  are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. 10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they sang: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” 13 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 14 The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

What a song! But most glorious of all, is that it is a song to be sung praising God for the work of Redemption. Indeed, God has in His love worked a plan to satisfy His holy justice and law that condemns all sinners, but God has instituted a plan to redeem the lost sinner too. On the cross where Jesus died for sins, He cried out,

John 19:30 (NASB)  He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

What was finished? Why the song of Redemption! God wrote it and carried it out himself to save us from our sins. Again Scripture declares,

Rom 5:19 (NASB)  For as through the one man’s disobedience [Adam] the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One[Jesus Christ] the many will be made righteous.

Yes, two songs are to be sung in Heaven, which God likes and wants to hear forever sung. It will be songs that will never grow old, never to tire of, for these songs speak of God’s great love which brought all sinner to Heaven and eternal life. But the question today is – will you be one of those saved, singing these songs? You can answer yes, but only if you have your sins forgiven in this life through the blood death of Jesus Christ appropriated for your sin penalty. The Good News is Christ died for your sins, and Christ lives for you now to come to Him and be saved from the wrath of God’s law to come upon you. What must you do? You must receive Jesus Christ into heart and life. You must call upon Him to save you, and for the Father God to transfer your sin penalty coming to Christ’s payment on the cross. When you acknowledge Jesus Christ as your God and Savior, a transaction in Heaven transfers all your sins forever on to Christ’s account, freeing you to have fellowship and spend eternity with God in His Heaven enjoying His love for all eternity. Have you so been saved? Is Christ your Redeemer? If so, you can sing this new song of redemption even today, by your love and worship of God.

Yes, in Heaven their will be a great “choir,” but it will be composed of ALL worshippers, who together in the glory of Heaven, will sing a new song of redemption and thanksgiving. But friend, I say to you – sing it now, and enter the joy of your salvation through the glory of Jesus Christ!

SONG #3 __________________________________________________________________

Yes friends, it appears God loves music, all kinds, but most importantly He is interested in what the music lyrics say. Do they truly praise God for His Creation? Do you believe the Bible, God’s Word about it, or are you following the silly and sinful teachings that deny God’s existence and glorious created Universe? Better and more important, can you sing the Redemption Hymn?

Rev 5:9 (NNAS)  And they sang^ a new song, saying, “Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.

I thank God I can sing that song, not only with my lips in praise to God, but with my heart that has been made new. May God so give you a new heart to sing this song now and for the ages to come.

Well friends, you’ve been listening to another talk by this speaker and commentator, Dennis Finnan. It has been my pleasure and privilege to share with you another aspect of the wonderful Word of God and life itself. It is our prayer here at the broadcast and by every supporter that the Words of Life have brought just that, eternal life to all who hear them. Be sure Jesus Christ is your Lord God and Savior and then you may have the assurance you are a child of God now and forever. It comes simply by exercising faith in the Person and work of redemption of Jesus Christ. He has done it all and offers it to a lost sinful world, just for the asking.

·         Radio talk #1702

·         Broadcast date: April 28, 2002

·         Speaker: Dennis L. Finnan, Commentator

·         Program: The World, the Word & You! Radio Broadcast

·         Address: P.O. Box 40133 Grand Junction, CO 81504

The World, the Word & You! Broadcast is a non-denominational ministry based on the historic fundamental evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures. A copy of our doctrinal statement is available upon request. These weekly radio commentaries are not exhaustive studies of any particular subject due to the time limit of broadcasting. Actual broadcasts can be heard in selected areas around the nation, as funding provides. Dennis Finnan has been the speaker for over 22 years, and serves as General Director.

These transcripts are available free of charge to all who desire them. Also available are actual radio cassette tapes and printed booklets of each message. A free listing of recent messages is available upon request also.