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Sermon

The Prelude to the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah

Series
Revelation
Scripture
Revelation 19:1-10

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Note: This transcript and summary was autogenerated. It has not yet been proofread or edited by a human.

Summary

This passage in Revelation 19:1-6 reveals the fourfold “Hallelujah” chorus of heaven — a prelude to the second coming of Jesus Christ. We are reminded that all of history is moving toward a climactic moment when God takes full control, judging wickedness and establishing His eternal reign. The four Hallelujahs celebrate God’s salvation, His righteous judgment upon Babylon, the worship around His throne, and the beginning of His earthly kingdom.

Key Lessons:

  1. Genuine praise must be rooted in the reality of God’s salvation — that He alone saved us without our cooperation, and this should be our daily posture of gratitude.
  2. God’s justice is perfect and incorruptible because it flows from His own righteous character — He alone can judge with equity, and no wickedness will ultimately go unpunished.
  3. Our salvation is not yet complete — we await the redemption of our bodies and the full establishment of God’s kingdom, which gives us enduring hope in present trials.
  4. The Hallelujah originates in heaven, not on earth, reminding us that our worship joins a cosmic chorus that celebrates God’s final and total victory over evil.

Application: We are called to wake up each day with thankfulness for God’s salvation, to trust His justice even when earthly justice fails, and to actively serve in His kingdom rather than sitting idle — living with the confident hope that Christ will complete what He started.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How does understanding that God’s justice is based on His own perfect character change the way you respond to injustice in the world today?
  2. If the Hallelujah chorus celebrates God’s completed salvation, what areas of your life still need to be surrendered to the truth that God saves you apart from your own effort?
  3. In what practical ways can you live each day with the hope of Christ’s return and the redemption of all things?

Scripture Focus: Revelation 19:1-6 provides the fourfold Hallelujah of heaven. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 describes the perilous character of the last days. Romans 8:22-23 teaches that we groan awaiting the redemption of our bodies. Luke 1:32-33 promises Christ’s eternal reign on David’s throne. Psalm 75:2,7 and Psalm 89:14 affirm God’s perfect justice and righteousness.

Outline

Introduction

Okay, this morning, let’s take our Bibles and turn to Revelation, the last book of the Bible. We’ve been moving through Revelation 19.

And as you turn there, let me have a word of prayer.

Father, this morning we just repeat the words of the song. We thank you that you’re the way and the truth and the life and that you are a well that never runs dry. We can always come to you and in your word we find a wealth of knowledge about who you are, the work that you’ve done, and even the completion of your work, how it’s all going to end.

We thank you, Lord, that you give this knowledge to your children, not everybody, to your children. And your children take it to heart. When they take it to heart, it comforts them and it gives them hope.

It helps them to see that this world is not the end. There will be a new heaven and new earth where righteousness dwells. That is our hope where Christ will be with us.

He will be our God and we will be his people and we’ll be glad about it. This morning, Lord, teach us from your word about how the things we are concluding and when we begin to realize, Lord, that you are king of kings and lord of lords, not only in heaven but on earth. I pray in Christ’s name. Amen.

The Doomsday Clock and Perilous Times

Maybe some of you have heard of the doomsday clock. It’s actually an imaginary clock.

However, there is a small group of atomic scientists who actually set the time on this clock by monitoring events of the world at any given time. They do this in order to see how humanity is heading and how close humanity is getting to midnight.

Midnight is the apocalypse. Midnight represents total destruction and annihilation, while the minutes and seconds show how close humanity is to that doomsday.

This group originated in 1947 when the bulletin of atomic scientists science and security board set the doomsday clock at 7 minutes to midnight on January 2026. The doomsday clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight—the closest that it’s ever been to signal global catastrophe. That’s 1 minute and 25 seconds to doomsday.

“The doomsday clock is now set at 85 seconds to midnight — the closest it’s ever been to signal global catastrophe.”

This is maintained by the bulletin of atomic scientists. It’s a symbolic clock that reflects at least three major threats.

In answering the question of why the clock has moved closer this year, the first factor they evaluated is nuclear risks. Increased tensions and the potential for nuclear warfare is a major factor for this group.

Paul’s Warning About the Last Days

Environmental crisis is a major factor. The disruptive technologies that we have today are another factor, which means the mismanagement of artificial intelligence and biological threats. We know those are real things like gain of function and what happened in COVID—things that can control a population.

All these things—these watchers of the doomsday clock—describe the current era as dangerously perilous, warning that global leaders are not doing enough to address existential threats. Well, what did the Apostle Paul warn the church about concerning the last days?

Paul’s reasons for these perilous times that will come reside in the coldness and wickedness of man’s heart, which is why there is an increase in aggression and tension amongst humankind, especially because of man’s rejection of the true and living God. Paul said this: “But realize this in Timothy that in the last days difficult times will come, or another word used in the King James, perilous times will come.”

And why does it come? Because men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, haters of that which is good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness.

Meaning this: there’s a shell, but nothing’s inside.

2 Timothy 3:1-5: “In the last days difficult times will come… men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant.”

He warns them that they deny the power. Avoid people like that.

The Prelude to Christ’s Second Coming

Revelation has been describing the doom that is going to come upon the world in graphic detail. But after chapter 18, we’re past that and into a different part of Revelation.

This part is going to give us this morning a prelude to the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. A prelude is a narrative that precedes the main event—the second coming of Christ. It sets the mood and tone of what will come.

The book of Revelation is actually talking about the final unveiling of the last days. In this section, this is the climax of judgment. It’s very comforting to know that as we look at this portion of scripture, everything will not end in doom.

Actually, everything will end in the hallelujah chorus. That’s how it’ll end—all believers will be part of the final amen chorus.

“Everything will not end in doom. Actually, everything will end in the hallelujah chorus.”

The godless harlot religious system will be destroyed by God, which we saw in the other chapters. The godless materialistic, economic, political system which led the whole world astray into deception is destroyed by God. Babylon by God’s power falls in complete destruction.

Why did it fall? The reason is number one: self-centered materialism. The very subtle and seductive power of a materialistic mindset brings comfort and causes greed. Actually, it will deceive the whole world.

Secondly, there’s sorcery. If you look at chapter 18, notice in verse 23 at the middle of the verse it says, “Because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” Sorcery is a direct violation of the first commandment because it seeks knowledge apart from God in evil spirits, in divination, in mediums and astrology and all that stuff that psychic readers and all those things that are happening.

It’s all used by Satan to deceive people. In fact, Revelation 21:8 says, “The sorcerers and idolators and all liars will be part of the lake of fire that burns with fire and brimstone.” This is the second death.

Then there’s a third thing, and that’s outright murder. In Revelation 18:24 it says, “And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who have been slain on the earth.” That means the world rejected the true message and those who brought that message.

In other words, if you don’t agree with the agenda, we’ll just eliminate you. We’ll just kill you. That is the mindset that’s going to be in the tribulation period.

This section of scripture this morning functions both to conclude the major section of the destruction of Babylon the great and introduces the section on Jesus’ return, which I’ll not get to today. We also can see a contrast between the mournful laments of three groups of people and the great joy from those most hurt by the policies of the evil empire of Satan.

When you read chapter 19 of Revelation, it immediately has a change of tone from a frightful, dreary day of judgment to a day of blessing.

The Fourfold Hallelujah

Prior to dealing with the manner of the second coming itself in this first half of Revelation 19, we have a prelude composed of three elements. This morning I want to start by looking at that first element from verses 1-6. I don’t know how far I’ll get after that, and we’ll have to pick it up next week wherever I cut it off like a link sausage when we’re done.

But here’s the first one. The first element of the prelude is the fourfold hallelujah.

So, Revelation 19, we’ll be looking at it in a minute. But let me just say that we see heaven.

“The first element of the prelude is the fourfold hallelujah.”

If you want to know what’s going on in heaven, well, this is it right now. All this that I’m going to mention this morning happens in heaven.

We see the reaction to this portion of human history and how heaven reacts to it. Here we see heaven and another angel with a loud voice and a great multitude. And you know what they’re saying? They’re saying hallelujah.

The First Hallelujah: Praise for God’s Victory

Now, Alleluia is a very common word today. It’s in songs. It’s in people’s language. It’s everywhere. What it means is praise the Lord, praise Yahweh, or simply just to praise God.

That’s how the scripture we read this morning in Psalm 106 ended. It ended in that way.

But Alleluia, if you didn’t probably know this—I didn’t know it at first either—is that only Revelation 19 uses the word. Nowhere in the New Testament is it found except right here in this chapter.

It is a fitting cry of the multitude of heaven to use maybe the most important word of all human history.

“Only Revelation chapter 19 uses the word hallelujah — a fitting cry using maybe the most important word of all human history.”

Now, if you go back to the Hebrew form of the word, which is “Hallel,” it’s found in Psalm 106 that we read this morning. It started out, “Praise the Lord,” and it ended with, “Amen. Praise the Lord.”

Yet all the stuff packed in the middle of that was all the things Israel was doing to provoke God, even to the point where they were giving their children up to the sacrifice of demons. That’s about as wicked as you get. That’s about as far away from God as you can get.

And yet it ends in praise the Lord, Amen. How did that happen? Because the people were praising God for God’s righteous judgment that would come upon the wicked people. That’s what they were praising the Lord for.

Salvation, Glory, and Power

And so the first hallelujah has two links to it. The first is linked to the great victory won by God who alone belongs to victory, and then secondly the execution of God’s judgment. Now look at verse one of Revelation 19:1. It says, “After these things, I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven saying, hallelujah, salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” Now, that’s an incredible statement there.

Revelation 19:1: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.”

If you notice in this part, it mentions really three attributes of God. First, it says hallelujah for salvation. Salvation is the deliverance that God brought about, and him alone, to save us.

Should we not sing hallelujah about that?

And then also it says the glory. This not only brings glory to God, but especially here that his plan of salvation is finished. Not only does he save people, but he saves them and redeems them and gives them resurrected bodies to dwell with him for all eternity. Something else to praise God for.

And then it says in the passage the power belongs to our God. No other power could have been brought about by anyone else except God himself. He can execute judgment, and him alone.

So the praise is of the true acknowledgment of who God is.

The crowd of worshippers in heaven included are the church triumphant and also the host of elect angels. They’re really the only group there at that particular time, and they are shouting loudly hallelujah because God has taken full control finally of everything.

What Real Praise Contains

Here we are given the components of what real praise contains.

If we want to know what real praise is, we find it right here in this passage.

Matter of fact, genuine praise, heartfelt praise that comes from God’s people has to start with his salvation.

“Genuine praise, heartfelt praise that comes from God’s people, has to start with his salvation.”

And that really should awaken our hearts to be thankful to our great God.

Salvation Awakens Thankfulness

Thank you, Lord, you saved me. Thank you, Lord. You forgave me of all my sin.

Thank you, Lord, that even your shed blood washed away my sin, it’ll never come up against me to condemn me. Thank you for so great a salvation. That’s something we ought to wake up every morning with that thought on our mind.

Though our minds and our hearts immediately when we open our eyes are thankful because we’re going to hedge against grumbling and complaining and the things that are going to get us knocked from pillar to post during that day, right? Being thankful and always coming back to that.

And then also glory should awaken our reverence towards God because his glory was driven by his love for humanity, his love for his children. He is a loving God. He demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, he dies for us. At our worst moment, God is demonstrating his love toward us.

“He demonstrates his love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, he dies for us. At our worst moment, God is demonstrating his love.”

And so we are thankful for that too. And then the power should awaken us to trust, awaken our trust towards God. He is faithful. God never in the end abandons his own people.

He will never leave us or forsake us. He is always with us. And so part of our day is realizing and sensing the presence of God in our life as he’s bringing to our minds the things that he’s taught us, how he’s brought us, how he’s rescued us, and all those things strengthen us.

The Great Multitude Praising God

This great multitude in heaven are saying praise the Lord. These most likely are the same group of saints in Revelation 7:9. Who were they who stood before the throne of God praising him for his salvation? They were people from every nation and all tribes and all peoples and all tongues.

It says in Revelation 7:9-10: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’” This second group are people from every tribe and nation who believed in the Messiah and are now in heaven crying out salvation to our God.

Revelation 7:10: “They cried out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.’”

In a sense, everything as we know it now is not finished.

God Takes Full Control

God has not yet taken full control of all things. But Revelation is telling us he will. As he’s been true to everything else, he will be true to this too. He will take everything under control. And this is it. This in some way is the reason for shouting in heaven.

God takes full control of his salvation and is seen as penetrating everything that takes place from now on.

When we get to Revelation 20 and 21, we’ll see that heaven is described with jewels and everything the glory of God is shining through everything. You can’t get wherever it is in the new heaven and new earth. You can’t get away from the glory of God. It’s everywhere and we’re glad it is.

God’s people are glad it is everywhere. Another place that we also see the celebration of God’s salvation is in Revelation 12:10 where the scripture describes Satan losing one battle after another. And it says there in Revelation 12:10, “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, ‘Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down. He who accuses them before the throne of God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the word of their testimony.’”

Revelation 12:11: “They overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony.”

And they did not love their lives even when faced with death. And then what does it say in verse 12? “For this reason, rejoice, oh heaven, and you who dwell in them.” So here is a celebration of the power of God over evil, putting down evil for good.

And yet the sense that God is taking full possession is really not in a full sense at least at this point.

But we do know that after the destruction of his world empire and his removal from the earth, heaven shouts hallelujah and praises the Lord and praises God as a celebration of the final complete triumph over the powers of evil. And then notice again back in Revelation 19:1 it says, “Salvation and glory and power belong to God.” That word belong means that it’s a possessive word that God has it and this full possession seems to be in reference to salvation that it’s all coming together.

The Lord Jesus reminds us the fullness of all things for the glory his glory and his power the more evident to us that the Lord completes the whole salvation process. He does it.

The Hope of Bodily Resurrection

All these passages show that God’s great victory was accomplished through the omnipotent power and resulted in his glory. In some sense this morning, we are not fully saved or fully delivered. Full salvation is not only God redeeming the soul but it’s also God redeeming our body.

We are delivered from the curse of sin, the penalty of sin, but we are not yet delivered from the presence and power of sin. Not yet, but we will be.

Just like Paul said in Romans, our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. And then he says it again in Romans 8:22-23. He says, “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

Romans 8:22-23: “We ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

That is the great hope that we have. We await the resurrection of our bodies along with the Old Testament saints who await the resurrection of their bodies, even though the souls of all saints are with the Lord now.

That was the message of the last chapter of Daniel. Resurrection and justice all come together. Daniel mentions that there’s going to be a resurrection to everlasting life and there will be a resurrection to everlasting contempt.

Two hugely different eternal destinies are given to people, and there are only two. There are not three.

Salvation by God’s Power Alone

And the destiny of disgrace and everlasting contempt awaits those who were wicked. They received their judgment because of their unbelief and rejection of Messiah. But then there are those who will be destined to renewal and everlasting life. Those who were faithful but lost their lives awake to vindication.

The promise of Daniel 12 is the awakening of the people individually but also with a view to their sharing a corporate destiny. The encouragement and hope in difficult times is recognizing that God will give complete victory in the physical and the spiritual realms and bring all people to their proper eternal abodes.

That’s what God will do. Our salvation takes place for his glory and by his power. And we are to shout because of that: Alleluia. Praise the Lord. Praise God. Because Jesus completes our salvation, that should always be part of the vocabulary of God’s people.

That comes from the heart out through the mouth, that we rejoice because of what God’s done. It just flows out of you because you realize that you could never have accomplished what God accomplished for you. You realize that we don’t cooperate with God in our salvation. God saves us alone without our help.

He moves by his Spirit upon our soul to grant us faith and repentance, to see and bring us alive to know that we are on a way to destruction. Unless we believe in Jesus Christ, we could never be saved. We don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Well, I think I need to get saved today.” People don’t just do that.

God’s got to work on your heart. He’s got to move heaven and earth to save you. That’s what he has to do.

“We don’t cooperate with God in our salvation. God saves us alone without our help. He moves by his Spirit to grant us faith and repentance.”

The Fall of Ecclesiastical Babylon

See, that’s how great God is. And that should be on our mind and on our tongues all the time. We can say nothing else but alleluia and praise God.

Now, this brings me to the second part of the first alleluia. It’s the fall of the ecclesiastical Babylon. Look back at Revelation 19:2 and it says this: Because his judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality.

Actually, this word “corrupting” is in the imperfect tense, meaning she kept corrupting. It wasn’t going to stop unless somebody stopped it. It’s going on right now in the world. The world is being corrupted by Satan and by his demons.

Everything is being corrupted and it’s going to continue to get worse and worse until someone stops it. And the only one who’s going to stop it is God himself.

And it says there that they were corrupting the earth with her immorality. And he has avenged the blood of the bond servants on her. And a second time they say alleluia. Her smoke rises up forever and ever.

This political system that is working in the world is going to be working at fever pitch during the tribulation, and the display of God’s power is very clear in the tribulation period. The seven sealed judgments, the seven trumpet judgments, the seven bowl judgments all demonstrate God’s righteous judgments.

Revelation 19:2: “His judgments are true and righteous, for he has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth.”

God’s Righteousness and Perfect Justice

And so this English term righteousness and justice are different words, but in the Old Testament and in the Greek there is only one word, one word group behind the two English terms. They both speak of one attribute of God, and that’s God’s righteousness. God’s righteousness means that God always acts in accordance with what is right and is himself the final standard of what is right.

That means God alone is perfect in judgment for at least three reasons.

Number one, he alone can see the innermost thoughts and desires of any person. No one else could do that.

Secondly, he alone has the purity which can judge without prejudice.

Thirdly, he alone has the wisdom to find the right judgment and the power to apply it. That’s what we can never do. We can never apply exactly the right thing when something goes wrong or when someone commits a crime. Today there is no righteousness. A lot of crime is not even being addressed or brought into courts of law to be handled.

If I ask the question, what is right? I would have to say this: whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right.

But why is whatever conforms to God’s moral character right? It’s right because it conforms to God’s moral character. You can’t get away from that in scripture.

If indeed God is the final standard of righteousness and justice, then there can be no standard outside of God by which to measure righteousness and justice. He himself is the final standard.

When Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins, it showed that God was truly righteous because he did give appropriate punishment to sin. He poured the wrath of God upon his own son for sin. The righteous dying for the unrighteous—the righteous being Christ, the unrighteous being us.

“Whatever conforms to God’s moral character is right. There can be no standard outside of God by which to measure righteousness.”

When born again Christians hear of the justice of God, it causes thanksgiving and gratitude. When we realize that righteousness and God’s omnipotent power are both possessed by God—if not, if he didn’t do it, if he doesn’t take care of wickedness, then there will be no justice.

If there’s no justice, justice cannot be guaranteed. It will ultimately prevail in the universe, and it will get worse. It will be the most horrible place anyone could ever live.

God Alone Judges with Equity

But our God has unlimited power and a character in which he must do what is right and just. And he will do what is right and just because of who he is. If you read through scripture, you’ll find in the Old Testament, it says that a God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is he.

And then Isaiah tells us this: a righteous God and a savior, there is none except me.

So that God’s justice is declared to be incorruptible, impartial, without respect of persons. And in Psalm 89, righteousness and justice are the foundation of his very throne.

Psalm 89:14: “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his very throne.”

Because of God’s nature, these judgments in Revelation have to take place. God finally has to close the door on wickedness. He finally has to deal with it. And as long as we are in this world with devils filled and sin cursed, there is no real justice to be found.

There will never be any justice in this world because this world does not know God or follow his standard. And because of man’s rebellion against God, the whole human race was thrown into sin and death. And as long as man and demons rule, there is always going to be confusion and chaos.

Yet we are to sing alleluia when righteousness wins out, when the justice of God wins out because God has been faithful to keep his promise to judge fairly.

And God is the only one. There is a lot of cry today about judging fairly or judging with equity. Well, the only one who could judge with equity is God himself.

In fact, this is what it says in Psalm 75: “When I select an appointed time, it is I who will judge with equity.” And then it says, “But God is the judge.”

Psalm 75:2, 7: “When I select an appointed time, it is I who will judge with equity. God is the judge.”

He puts down one and he exalts one. Who could do that but God? So God’s justice is true because it is based on his own covenant faithfulness and just because it is based on his holy character.

The Second Hallelujah: Destruction of Babylon

There’s a second allelujah in our text.

Let’s turn there again to Revelation 19:3 and notice what it says there. It says, “And a second time they said allelujah, her smoke rises up forever and ever.” Now, this is talking about the second allelujah is for the destruction of the city of Babylon. This is the troubled city, the political capital of the world, the capital of the beast of his kingdom.

God will climax vengeful judgment on the harlot system and the whole deceptive system of anti-God activity will be turned into a burning heap and your smoke will rise forever and ever and never again will it rise from its ruins. This second allelujah celebrates the extent of punishment and that extent really is where the eternal smoke of torment that really accompanies the lake of fire.

This great Babylon pays the price for her folly and for the blood of the saints. Jesus will execute vengeance from the ones who spilt the blood of the saints by the people who engaged in evil and wicked deeds. So we ought to shout allelujah.

Praise God. Praise God. Because Jesus will complete and carry out fair and righteous judgment according to his standard. It also shows that no one will get away with anything when it comes to God’s justice.

“No one will get away with anything when it comes to God’s justice.”

No One Escapes God’s Justice

Nobody will get away with anything. Even if they got away with it here on earth, they will not get away with it before God because we’re getting to Revelation 20 when the books will be open. Out of those books, God’s going to judge people.

Those books are accurate books. God takes accurate records. He knows everything that has gone on in your life, in my life.

I mean, we would not want somebody put a screen up here and broadcast your life, all the intimate things going on in your life on the screen for everybody to see.

But God’s piercing judgment will penetrate through all that. But what? For believers, we don’t have to worry about that.

“For believers, we don’t have to worry — we’re not going to be at the great white throne judgment.”

Because we’re not going to be at the great white throne judgment.

Everything’s going to be taking place at the bema judgment. When the rapture of the church comes and we go to heaven with the Lord, we’re going to be judged not because of our sin, but because of our works after we became believers.

So it should cause great concern in our life, too. Like, what are we doing for the Lord? Hopefully, we’re not just sitting back and doing nothing and falling on our arms and letting everybody else do the work. No, God calls us to be servants in his kingdom.

The Third Hallelujah: Praise Around the Throne

But another thing is that this is also here at the end of the great tribulation.

Now, if the great tribulation is ended, what is the reaction of the people in heaven now? I want you to notice the third allelujah is a wonderful praise to God from around the throne of God. Look at verse four.

These groups have been witnesses to the events on earth which are now complete. The 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, “Amen. Allelujah.” And a voice came from the throne saying, “Give praise to our God, all of you, his bond servants who fear him, small and great.”

Now, if you notice, there’s a combination here in this passage between amen and allelujah. This is almost the last amen.

Finally, the end comes and heaven is really happy about it. Notice the posture—the serious posture of their prayer is that they fall down before God, which symbolizes total surrender before the God who sits on the throne.

“They fall down before God, which symbolizes total surrender before the God who sits on the throne.”

All of heaven erupts in praise. The 24 elders represent the church of Jesus Christ from Pentecost to the rapture. The four living creatures represent the elect angels who worship in heaven before God. The bond servants, small and great, would be the tribulation martyrs, the great multitude, the redeemed saints.

A single voice from heaven—a voice from the throne—calls out to the saints on earth to join in praise with God. This voice came from the throne saying, “Give praise to God, all of you, his bond servants who fear him, small and great.”

Heaven is bursting with allelujah. Remember, allelujah did not originate on earth. It originated in heaven and it comes from God himself and the people of God who are there now in heaven worshiping him.

But there’s a fourth allelujah. I want you to notice in Revelation 19:6, the fourth allelujah is for the eternal reign of God—that his reign has begun and for the marriage supper of the lamb.

The Fourth Hallelujah: God’s Eternal Reign

Notice in verse 6, then I heard something like the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of many peals of thunder saying, now let me just stop there for a moment.

What are they saying in verse 6? They’re saying Alleluia for the Lord our God Almighty reigns.

The reason for this joy is the eternal reign of God has begun. It doesn’t mean that God wasn’t reigning before. What it means though is everything comes together where now the reign of God will begin on earth, which the earth has not experienced. Jesus Christ will come and reign on the throne.

This God, it really means here that God became king in the fullness of power on the earth with the fall of all the other world powers. The eternal reign of God will begin. And this is what heaven is saying at this point. Finally, we waited this long for this to happen and now it’s here and they’re so ecstatic that they’re just bursting out in all these Alleluias.

Revelation 19:6: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns!”

The next reason for God’s people to make verbal celebration is found in our passage here: it is God’s earthly kingdom coming.

This is the greatest celebration of the saints because Christ their Lord and Savior will return and bring his kingdom with him. We will be with him when he comes to return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords on the earth. This exuberant, incredible, loud song of praise is also for the marriage to the Lamb. This is where everything comes together.

Now, if you remember very succinctly the Lord’s prayer that we’ve been praying all these years in Matthew 6:9-13, pray then in this way: “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” And then it ends with “for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

So in a very real sense, Jesus is finally honored and this prayer is finally answered. Jesus reigns as king and rules in heaven above and will rule on earth below.

Now just think of this for a minute.

Christ’s Kingdom Promised in Scripture

This is not a new subject in scripture. This has been taught all along.

In fact, if you take your Bibles, quickly turn over to Luke 1:32-33.

Because here in Luke, he is teaching right in the first chapter of what will be. If you notice in Luke 1:32-33, it says in verse 32, “And he will be great and will be called the son of the most high and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.” Verse 33: “And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

Luke 1:33: “He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end.”

So this is the literal physical political reign of Christ where Jesus will rule and reign on the throne of David and this earthly establishment of the rule of God will come with the return of Christ to this planet and God’s kingdom will be set up on the earth never to be removed again.

Now, although it will manifest itself for a thousand-year reign of peace and justice of which the world and its rulers could never have exemplified.

Conclusion: Our Final Triumph Is Guaranteed

So we ought to shout because of these four allelujah. We ought to shout ourselves, praise the Lord. Praise God.

Because we believe that our final triumph is guaranteed by him. That God Almighty will indeed bring it to pass.

And the only thing we can conclude with is, if you are a Christian today and if you are part of the people of God, the only thing you can possibly conclude with is thank you Lord. Hallelujah to your great name. And yes, there will be doom for those who did not believe and rejected Christ.

“Our final triumph is guaranteed by him. For the saints and all the people of God, there will be nothing but amen and hallelujah.”

But for the saints and all the people of God and his elect angels, there will be nothing but amen and allelujah.

Could you say amen today?

Amen.

Let’s pray. I’ll stop there today.

Lord, thank you this morning for this portion of scripture because, Lord, in it, it tells us things we could have never found anywhere else. Thank you, Lord, for the word of God. Thank you for the clarity of the word of God.

Thank you, Lord, for allowing us to read it, to hear it preached. Now Lord, as we have heard it preached, I pray Lord that if someone today doesn’t know Christ as their Lord and Savior, they’re still part of the wicked people. The only way they can have their sin forgiven and cleansed is by coming to Christ, asking him to save them.

I pray that you would grant them faith and repentance that they may turn from what they’re trusting in. If some religious system or some good works, that’s not going to save them. That’s just a pile of garbage. Only Christ can save. That’s your job. You came to save your people from their sin.

And that’s what keeps us from your heaven, our sin. We can’t take over our sin. We forgot the sins that we committed a month ago, a week ago, yesterday. But you haven’t forgotten. And all those are going to accumulate until there will be no response to when you judge your people.

But Lord, thank you in Christ Jesus. He’s taken care of all that. He’s paid for every single sin that we could ever commit or will commit tomorrow. So Lord, you change us. You give us your spirit. You give us your word. We’re different now because we came to Christ.

Our whole worldview is different. So Lord, today I pray Lord if we cannot genuinely based on knowledge from scripture sing allelujah, I pray tomorrow we can because we trusted Jesus today.

Lord, please those who are your children, those who already know the truth and are walking with you, encourage their heart, comfort them with these truths. Help them to wake up every day and be thankful. Help them to wake up every day and be able to shout with the saints and the angels in heaven, allelujah, because of the great things you have done.

And Lord, we want to praise you. We want to give you the honor and glory that is due only your name. And we want to be used by you with the time you give us on this earth to be able to proclaim your name, to live out and adorn the gospel, and just to be your servants.

Lord, whatever you want us to do, that’s what we want to do. And I pray that you would bless us in that way and encourage us. Keep us strong in the faith.

And Lord, when we are attacked by Satan, help us to put on the whole armor of God to be able to stand in your strength, not our own. And I pray, Lord Jesus, every day you would grow us more and more like Christ. And that Lord, you may use us more and more to share the truth with others who don’t know you.

And I pray this all today in the precious and the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Let’s stand.

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