REVELATION 15:3-4

I was recently reading through the lyrics of some Tom Petty songs and struck again by the number of times he utilizes phrases from the Bible, although one could hardly say that he was a Christian by any means. In his case, it was probably due to the residue of cultural references that are our common heritage, believers and non-believers alike. That got me to thinking about the songs in the Book of Revelation and how much they owe to Old Testament thought and wording, as well as the amount of theology which can be packed into a song.

This particular song has the distinction of being the only one in this final book of the Bible to be composed in poetic parallelism, the form found in most Hebrew poetry, as Leon Morris points out. Therefore, it is not that unusual that “almost all the song is composed of Old Testament expressions.” But in addition, concepts from other New Testament writings are also present in these two verses. To demonstrate this sort of cross-referencing which may be found throughout the Bible, I have broken down the verses (RSV) into individual lines followed by their earlier scriptural parallels along with some pertinent comments from scholars on the meanings of these lines.

And they sing the song of Moses,

“Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD...” (Exodus 15:1-21)

“The hymn of Exodus 15 which celebrated Israel's triumph over Pharaoh. Here the conquerors of the beast celebrate the justice of God in punishing the wicked persecutors.” (JB note)

Phillips provides an impressive number of general thematic and contextual parallels between Exodus 15 and Revelation 15:3-4, but few verbal similarities.

Alternatively, J.B. Smith and a number of other scholars believe that the song of Deuteronomy 32 is what is being referred to in Revelation. In that song we are treated to a review of all the blessings God has given to Israel.

Bruce says, “The song of the Lamb is probably 'Worthy is the Lamb' (5:12); the song of Moses refers not only to the hymn of praise for redemption in Exod 15:1-18 but also to the judgment-song of Dt. 32...”

“Some exegetes have understood...that the song of Moses is that given in Exodus xv, and the song of the Lamb here. But it is much more likely that there is but one song referred to with the double title.” (Morris)

By contrast, others such as Beasley-Murray feel that there is only one song, not two. “The name of Moses is conjoined with that of Christ because a similar, though greater, deliverance has been wrought from a similar, though greater, foe. The comparison of final redemption with the Exodus is common in the prophets (cf. Is. 51:9-11).”

And for a final point of view, Michaels suggests that the song may be the same as “the new song” mentioned in Revelation 14:3.

the servant of God,

Moses is called the servant of God in Joshua 14:7, 22:4; and Hebrews 3:5. But in that last reference the author contrasts him with Christ. “Moses was faithful in God's house as a servant; however, Christ was faithful over God's house as a son.”

Morris: “While this usage is found in the Old Testament it may not be fanciful to recall that 'the servant of the Lord' is a theme of prophecy; more particularly in Isaiah. Perhaps John means us to think that the prophets as well as the law are caught up in this song.”

and the song of the Lamb, saying

See the comments above.

“Great and wonderful are thy deeds, O Lord God the Almighty!

The Greek version of Deuteronomy 28:59-60 provides the background of this phrase, according to Beale and McDonough, and it “predicts that Israel's future judgment will be patterned after the Egyptian plagues.” They also see Psalm 111:2 behind the wording. Beale notes that the formula 'Lord God the Almighty' “is used repeatedly in the prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi of God who sovereignly directs his people's history, and this is its meaning elsewhere in the Apocalypse.”

In Psalm 92:5, the parallel second line of the verse says that His thoughts are very deep.

In Psalm 98:1, the phrase is used in the context of God's utter victory.

In Psalm 104:24, the wonderful deeds are attributed to God's wisdom.

In Psalm 139:14, the description is applied to God's knowledge of our inner selves.

In Isaiah 6:3, “the Lord of hosts” is associated with His power and glory.

Just and true are thy ways, O King of the ages!

The first thing to note is that the external textual evidence is equally divided by manuscripts which read “King of the nations” and those which say “King of the ages.” Metzger says that the RSV translation committee chose the latter as being “more in accord with the context (ver. 4).”

Regarding the first half of the above phrase, commentators as diverse in background as F.F. Bruce and Walvoord note the similarity with Deuteronomy 32:3-4 even though there is not much exact verbal agreement. Those verses read: “For I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

In addition, Ford sees OT verses such as Psalm 92:5; 111:2 and 139:14 behind the phrase “Just and true are thy ways.” Other biblical passages which have been suggested as parallels include Psalm 145:17; Jeremiah 10:10; John 3:21; and I John 1:6.

Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord?

“Together with the last clause of 15:3 ('king of the nations') [see above], the opening statement of this verse recalls Jer. 10:7: 'Who would not fear you, O king of the nations?'” (Beale and McDonough)

For thou alone art holy,

Hannah offers up a prayer containing similar words: “There is none holy like the LORD, there is none besides thee; there is no rock like our God.” (I Samuel 2:2)

Psalm 86:10 reads, “For thou art great and doest wondrous things, Thou alone are God.”

In Psalm 99 we have a repeated chorus reading “He is holy” (vv. 3,5), “For holy is the LORD, our God“ (v. 9) Tanner says, “ Verse 9 completes the stanza with the same theme as the others end. God's answering, guidance, forgiving, and avenging are to be praised! Again the enthronement psalms remind all that, when we praise God, we praise all of God's acts, the acts of grace and the acts of punishment. We praise God for holding us accountable. This makes praise a weighty matter, a serious business, an act to be understood and contemplated, instead of mindlessly given.”

All nations shall come and worship thee,

Here one could cite numerous OT prophecies which talk about the universal worship of God in the future, including Psalm 86:9-10; Isaiah 2:2-3; 49:22-23; 60:14; 66:23-24; Jeremiah 16:19; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 8:20-22; 14:16; and Malachi 1:11 as well as Revelation 5:9-10. Beale and McDonough state, “This prophetic theme is seen to achieve its fulfillment in the futuristic depiction of Rev. 15:4.” And Mounce feels this confidence “is adapted by John as a expression of the complete sovereignty of God over all the hostile opposition and his followers in the last days.”

for thy judgments have been revealed.”

“V. 4 concludes suitably with another OT reminiscence of the exodus, now from Psalm 98:2.” (Beale) That verse reads, “The Lord...has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.” Another possible allusion antecedent verse is Isaiah 26:9 – “For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.”

The thought reappears in Revelation 14:7, which contains the announcement “the hour of his judgment has come.”