Here Comes The Bride!

Revelation 19:1-8

(A Chorus of Hallelujahs)

After this, I heard the sound of a vast crowd in heaven shouting, “Hallelujah! Salvation is from our God. Glory and power belong to him alone. 2His judgments are just and true. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and he has avenged the murder of his servants.” 3Again and again their voices rang, “Hallelujah! The smoke from that city ascends forever and forever!”

4Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Hallelujah!”

5And from the throne came a voice that said, “Praise our God, all his servants, from the least to the greatest, all who fear him.”

6Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a huge crowd, or the roar of mighty ocean waves, or the crash of loud thunder: “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7Let us be glad and rejoice and honor him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8She is permitted to wear the finest white linen.”

Psalm Link

Psalm 106:48

Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

Let all the people say, “Amen!”

Praise the LORD!

No one remembers Charles Jenners, but it was his biblical excerpts that inspired George Frideric Handel to compose the Messiah. At points Handel became so excited at Charles’s excerpts that he would jump up, wave his arms in the air, and shout, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” He later recalled, “I did think I saw all heaven before me and the great God himself.”

Handel’s majestic “Hallelujah Chorus” is certainly inspiring, giving us a taste of the heavenly scene of Revelation 19. But just imagine what the real thing will be like!

Do you remember that Jesus and his disciples sang a hymn after the Last Supper? That hymn was undoubtedly the traditional Jewish Hallel (Psalms 113–118), which was sung at Passover to commemorate the Exodus. Now in Revelation 19 we have a new Hallel at another feast, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. And this commemorates another deliverance—our escape from sin and death.

You may soon be celebrating the start of a new year, ringing out the old, ringing in the new. As you do, keep one word in mind: Hallelujah! Sometime in our future there’s a party to end all parties. The Lamb of God will invite us to a bash that rings out the old life forever and rings in a new unity with him. Hatred, fear, and pride will go suddenly stale, as we feast on love, joy, and praise. What a day that will be! Hallelujah!

Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne;

Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone;

Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion thunder like a mighty flood;

“Jesus, out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.”

WILLIAM CHATTERTON DIX

Fascinating Fact

The word hallelujah occurs frequently in the Psalms, where it’s translated “Praise the Lord,” but Revelation 19 is the only appearance of the word in the New Testament.

Notable Quotable

“There is something elevating about the praise of God. When we magnify His name and celebrate His glory, our own souls partake of greatness.”

ROBERT E. COLEMAN