Revelation 19
By Pastor Steve
Hallelujah Chorus
Hallelujah is a term used almost exclusively in the religious world. It is a Hebrew term that can be translated into English by utilizing such words as—Joy—Praise—Adoration—Thanksgiving. It is used in the Biblical sense to convey the reality of a song of praise and or a song of thanksgiving to the Lord for His interaction in the lives of His people. This concept of offering praise and thanksgiving is the theme of our text for today. But for many people reading our beloved book, our text for today could be criticized as depicting our God as a God of wrath rather than a God of love.
The 19th Chapter of the book of Revelation begins with a subject title: Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall. The last couple chapters of John’s Revelation provide detailed information concerning the fall of Babylon in this prophetic dialog concerning the end times. This text is describing how God will allow the destruction of this typological Babylon due to the sin that is prevalent and the evil that devours all those who are god fearing. As a result of a text that describes judgment and doom, many who do not follow the Lord consider only the wrath and miss the sense of protection that God offers all of us who choose to follow Him.
While I was reading this text, I was overwhelmed by the following hallelujah chorus:
Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
Whenever God’s people draw near the end of a year, we should take time to consider the past year of life and especially the last year with the Lord. Is the linen we are dressed in righteous and holy? Are the acts of our life pleasing to our Lord? Would we be ready if the doors to the Wedding Hall (Heaven) were opened today? Do we rejoice with Him and in Him; or simply throw accusations at Him? Our text describes the end times—but the discussion is not about a God of judgment. The answer is, however, always about our God of grace who is slow to anger and patient with His people.
