Who’s In Charge Anyway?

Revelation 11:15-19

(The Kingdom Carol)

15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”

16And the twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped him. 17And they said,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

the one who is and who always was,

for now you have assumed your great power

and have begun to reign.

18The nations were angry with you,

but now the time of your wrath has come.

It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants.

You will reward your prophets and your holy people,

all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest.

And you will destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”

19Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared; there was a great hailstorm, and the world was shaken by a mighty earthquake.

Psalm Links

Psalm 2:1

Why do the nations rage?

Why do the people waste their time with futile plans?

Psalm 10:16

The LORD is king forever and ever!

Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.

When the Carthaginian general Hannibal was leading his troops over the Alps into Italy, he pointed to the valleys of Piemonte below. “Look,” he said. “See those vineyards? See those fields of grain? A few more struggles, and they all belong to you.” As far as the general was concerned, his troops had already won. It was all over but the shouting.

Hannibal was right. But his men didn’t win by confidence alone. They had to bring an entire army across the Alps, along with their pack-elephants. It wasn’t easy, but they did it, and their superior power enabled them to defeat the Romans.

As Christians, we’re on a winning team. Admittedly, that’s hard to believe sometimes. It may seem that we’re losing 30-0 in the last minute of the Super Bowl. But Christ has promised a victory, and he has the power to pull it off. It’s all over but the shouting.

And what shouting that will be! Revelation 11:15 gives us an earful. “The whole world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” The honking of New Year’s Eve will be tame compared with the din of that ultimate victory party.

So don’t face today, and don’t face the New Year, acting as if the battle is lost. Christ is victor. Live with that confidence in your heart. As Hannibal said, “Only a few more struggles.”

His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o’er earth and heaven;

The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given:

Lift up your heart, lift up your voice!

Rejoice, again I say rejoice!

CHARLES WESLEY

Notable Quotable

“Judgment is not contradictory to love but a necessary aspect of it. If God were to ignore what has been going on, he would not be a good God, and history itself would turn out a vicious deceit.”

VERNARD ELLER