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Revelation 11:15-19



The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:

“The kingdom of the world has

become the kingdom of our

Lord and of his Christ,

and he shall reign for ever and ever.”


And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God …

(verses 15-16)

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I can’t read these words without hearing the strains of Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus” reigning in my ears. Apparently, while working on the whole oratorio of the “Messiah,” Handel was often found with tears in his eyes. After composing the “Hallelujah Chorus,” he reported to his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels!” He’d been writing music to undergird and carry these words penned by the Apostle John, and in reflection and meditation he found himself caught up in the same vision.


Revelation 11 gives us John’s own description. A trumpet blast reverberates through heaven, riveting John’s attention. Loud voices cry out, declaring God’s sovereign rule, and at that declaration, twenty-four elders fall down before the throne of Almighty God, passionately pouring forth their worship. What they have heard declared, ringing throughout all heaven, is a fulfilment of the prayers of all saints, from every nation and timeframe, who down the centuries have prayed the prayer Jesus himself taught his disciples.


“Our Father in heaven,” he taught them, “hallowed be your name.”Then he gave them this heart’s-cry: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” What John now describes in Revelation is the ultimate fulfilment of all those prayers combined.


The kingdom of the world – its powers and pretensions, triumphs and follies, abundance and scarcity, virtues and vices – has now been gloriously over-shadowed and rewritten by the reign of God himself. How good! God’s kingdom has come. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” God’s perfect will is now fully expressed upon the earth.


Yes! His kingdom is here, in all its fullness, never to be disrupted, for his reign is declared to be enduring, unending, eternal – “for ever and ever.”


At present, we live in tension between “the now and the not yet.” The kingdom of God has decisively broken into our world in the Person of Jesus – in his ministry and through his cross, the Kingdom is here. But not yet in all its fullness. At the present time, we experience both presence and yearning. We see evidence of the Lord’s power at work in salvation and restoration and miracles and healing and answered prayers. That power is at work in us and through us. But not yet in all its fullness. We long for it to be complete. We wait eagerly for that future day. We yearn for the full reality of “your kingdom come.”


That’s what the loud voices in heaven shout out. The kingdom has come! Fullness has arrived! “He shall reign for ever and ever!” Hear the strains of music swell.

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Sovereign Lord, we wait with baited breath for those loud voices to ring out. We say with all our heart, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Thank you that this is your desire. Thank you that the cross of Jesus has made this future sure. I rejoice – you will reign for ever and ever. Amen.

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Pray:

With renewed passion, pray “Your kingdom come, Your will be done.” Choose a need from your own life, from your circle of relationships, and from your community – pray for them today with this future hope in view.

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Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

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