A View of Victorious Thanks

That dark time will come after the Two Witnesses (Revelation 11) are killed, but are raised and taken to heaven. In those days no one will be able to buy or sell (Revelation 13*) without the mark of The Beast (The Antichrist). Also, the wrath of God will be systematically poured out upon those left on earth who have not surrendered to Christ. Now that’s a nasty time!

However, looking at Revelation 11:15-19 we see thanks is given to God. Yes, that scene occurs in heaven away from the nastiness the earth is facing, but keep in mind that a true Christian is seated with fellow disciples “together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). It is within him to worship and praise God despite circumstances.

With that in mind, let us take a brief look at this passage, applying some things to our lives.

Our Rallying Point to Thanks

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Hopefully you might know that this statement by the heavenly voices also occurs in Handel’s Messiah. Most importantly the statement is made toward the end of the Great Tribulation. A true disciple looks forward to that time, especially considering our decaying society that honors homosexuality, sodomy, abortion, lewdness and sadly more. We look forward to that time when Christ will reign (Revelation 20) and the knowledge of God will fill the earth (Isaiah 11:9). If we remain true to Him, we will have part in His reign (Revelation 2:26). This is something to look forward to and gives added strength as we go through these times.

Our Response in Thanks

“And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshiped God.”

To some of us, though we do not know exactly who the twenty-four elders will be, we might esteem them better than ourselves. After all, they occupy a prime place around the throne of God.

Yet, despite all their personal honor, they prostrate themselves before Him. To me this is a zenith of humility and reverence. Both qualities should permeate our life before God.

Our Reasons for Thanks

“Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come…,” this, alone should be all the reason we need to give thanks. This is something that, much unlike our world, never changes. Please see my article, Five Reasons to Thank God When You Feel There is Nothing to Thank Him For, for developments of that point.

“…because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.” Christ now reigns in the hearts of His disciples, but, again, we can rejoice in the fact that He will rule the nations, and the reign of sin will be curbed for a thousand years.

“And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come…” We can thank God because the nations will not go unpunished for their disobedience to Him and their atrocities toward His disciples.

“…and the time of the dead, that they should be judged,… and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Think of all the unsovled murders, terrorist deeds, thievery and more. All of this and more is rectified at Christ’s judgment of the world.

“…and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great…” Each true disciple will have part in Christ’s millennial reign and in the New Jerusalem that follows. However, the greatest reward is just to be with Christ for all eternity, all of which is certainly something to give thanks for.

Our Results from Thanks

“And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.”

The latter half of this verse reminds me of the time when King Jehoshaphat and those with him simply stood still and praised God though they were confronted by formidable enemies. Thanking God, which can be considered a form of praise, will certainly help us battle the forces of darkness as we strive to be overcomers. Years back I had to learn by experience to mingle thanksgiving and praise with requests before God.

Best of all is having that special presence of God. The Ark of the Covenant seemed to some to represent, if not invite, that presence. Thank God that through the precious blood of His glorious Son we may boldly enter the Holy of Holies (Hebrews 4:16), enjoying the powerful blessings of His presence.

If you are not truly a disciple of Christ, fully surrendered to Him, I encourage you to do so now. With Christ as King within you, you will have a new life (2 Corinthians 5:17)that will, by His grace, propel you through the rough course of this life and on to glory with Him if you remain true to Him.

For us who are His, let us look forward to the fact that the end of this age and the next will bring us to the time when Christ shall rule on earth.

Notes:

The Lord willing, This article will be part of my Bible GemLight Series as opal007.

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* Though Revelation 13 comes after the record of the Two Witnesses, many of us feel that the chapter is explanatory in nature and indicative of Daniel’s seventieth week (Daniel 9:27).