Word of Encouragement (11/17/2021)

And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth” (Rev. 11:16-18).

This prayer of thanksgiving is offered by the twenty-four elders after the second woe has passed and the seventh trumpet is sounded. The seventh trumpet signals the beginning of the third woe, which will usher in the end of the world.

In this thanksgiving, the elders praise God as “Lord God almighty, who is and who was...” (v. 17). As you can see, this description is missing something. Usually, God/Christ is described as the One “who is and who was and who is to come.” This description shows God’s sovereign lordship over time—over the present (“who is”), the past (“who was”), and the future (“who is to come”). Obviously, the description in v. 17 is missing the final element of the triad—“who is to come.” Why? This cannot mean that God is no longer in control of the future!

We notice that this truncated triad is followed by the clause, “for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.” Observe the time element: “you have... begun to reign.” When we read this clause with the echo of the missing phrase of the triad that we can’t help but hear—“who is to come”—we can see that “who is to come” has come and begun to reign! What was promised of the future—“Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”—has finally arrived.

Of course, God is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. There has not been any moment in all of eternity when God lost His sovereign control. But in this fallen world, sinners and demons rebel against God’s revealed will and break His law. Of course, even their rebellion and sins are allowed by God’s secret, decretive will. God allows it to expose the sinfulness of sinners for their judgment.  God allows it also to use them to accomplish His eternal purpose for His glory and for the good of His people. But this is not how it will be forever. There will come a time when God’s revealed will—that is, His law—will be perfectly obeyed by all His creatures, whether in heaven in communion with God or in hell under divine punishment.

This prayer gives thanks to God that that time has finally arrived. It is a time to judge and punish sinners so that they can no longer rebel against God. The wrath of God has come against the nations that raged in rebellion against Him so that they can sin no more; the destroyers of the earth will themselves be destroyed by God’s judgment. And God’s servants, both small and great, who fear His name will be rewarded.

Nothing happens in this world, which was not first conceived in the eternal plan and sovereign of God before the foundation of the world. This vision shows what God has predestined for the end of the world. It promises a time when God’s (revealed) will will be done in us as it is done in the glorified angels in heaven, when we will no longer betray our knowledge of God’s will with our sinful actions. Then, there will be no more regrets and compunctions and shame and sorrows caused by our sins. And God is working in us to bring that about more and more in this life until it will be perfect on that day so that we will joyfully await that day. Let us give thanks to God for what He is doing in our lives to that end (even God’s disciplines we must endure)! And let us give thanks to God that He, who began the good work in us, will surely bring it to completion on that glorious day!

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