Revelation 11:16-18 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying:
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18 The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”
We can give two responses when we stand before God is worship: worship or woe. The 24 elders may represent both the church and Israel. This song of praise from the 24 elders announces that the kingdom of God has come in power. Verse 17 looks backward and to the present. There is no need to look in the future because the hopes people have longed for have now become a reality. This song describes two responses the Lord God Almighty will give: 1) judgment upon the nations and 2) reward for those who have feared and followed God.
This song reminds us of two important things that are easy to forget in the midst of the mundane everyday things we get caught up in. First, it is a warning that judgment is a reality. It is not a theory or something to brush off. The danger comes when people forget to fear the Lord. They lower the position of God in their lives, until the point that they disregard or even reject God. This may seem satisfying in this life, but it will bring disaster for eternity. People make themselves self-assured by making God an adversary and then putting God in a box of their own making. They can then elevate themselves as their own god. This allows them the freedom to live in anyway they want, particularly in satisfying the lusts of the flesh.
Second, this song is an expression of hope. We can know that our hope in Christ will one day be fulfilled when the kingdom comes in fullness. The prophets longed for the day when God would restore Israel. But they saw something even deeper and greater with the hope that God would restore relationship with people by changing their hearts. This is also the hope expressed in Revelation. These verses give us a partial glimpse and we will see more in the remaining chapters.
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