14 day plan

Let’s Sing!

Day 14 of 14

NIV

Revelation 19:1-3

Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall

1After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:

“Hallelujah!

Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,

2for true and just are his judgments.

He has condemned the great prostitute

who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.

He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

3And again they shouted:

“Hallelujah!

The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

Reflection: The Hallelujah Chorus

Many Christians are embarrassed that one day God will judge all people, and so prefer not to talk about it. One pastor said to me that he never speaks about judgment because if someone comes to his church for the first time and hears about judgement they may never return. The Bible’s attitude to that great Day could not be more different.

In Revelation 18:20 a heavenly voice invites all God’s servants to celebrate the fall of Babylon and ‘rejoice over her’. John then hears songs expressing the enthusiastic response of God’s people to the destruction of this symbol of human wickedness.

‘Hallelujah’ (‘Praise the Lord’) is a common refrain in Christian singing and speaking. It may be a surprise to see that the word only appears four times in the New Testament, and each time it’s in Revelation 19, and it’s in the context of judgment. In Revelation, Judgment Day is Hallelujah Day. Throughout the Bible God’s people continually cry out, “How long, O Lord?” (e.g., Psalm 6:3). This song announces that their prayer has been heard. Justice is a beautiful thing, and the day when God brings judgment — and with it, salvation — will be a glorious day worth singing about.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, in a world of so much injustice and corruption, we look forward to that Day when you will make all things right. So, today we pray, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Amen.