Every Sunday we say the Lord’s Prayer together. Many of you learned this prayer when you were young children and you know the words so well that you could recite them in your sleep. Unfortunately, sometimes we become so familiar with something that it causes us to forget its true meaning. For instance, when we pray “Thy Kingdom Come” every week, do we really know what we are asking for?
When we pray “Thy Kingdom Come,” we are asking God to execute a cosmic coup d’état by overthrowing Satan as prince of this world and reclaiming his rightful place as King over the earth. When we pray “Thy Kingdom Come,” we are asking Jesus to return to the earth and judge the wicked and reward the righteous. When we pray “Thy Kingdom Come,” we are asking God to restore his rule and reign and recreate everything that has been destroyed by sin and death.
Well, I have good news for you this morning! God has heard our prayers for his kingdom to come and it will be just a little while longer until he answers them.
In Revelation 11:1-14 John showed us a picture of the advancement of history since the ascension of Christ—specifically, how God spiritually protects his church and uses it to witness in the world. He also told us that a day is coming when the unbelieving world will conquer the church and leave it for dead, but then God will breathe new life into it. At that time, true believers will be taken to heaven and unbelievers will suffer judgment. In Revelation 11:15-19, John zooms in to give us a close up picture of the end of history. Let’s take a look and see what it will be like when “Thy Kingdom has Come!”
Reclaiming the Kingdom (15)
With the blowing of the seventh trumpet, a startling event occurs. The readers are surely expecting another devastating judgment to fall upon the earth, but instead they hear a heavenly choir. The symphony of angelic voices shout out what the entire book of Revelation has been anticipating all along—the arrival of God’s kingdom and the end of human history.
This heavenly song celebrates the reversal of the tragic earthly situation during the age of sin. God’s kingdom of righteousness replaces the earthly kingdom of sin. The temporal reign of sin and the temporal nature of life in this sinful world will be overcome by the eternal Godhead, an eternal kingdom, and eternal life in glory for the faithful people of God.
When the heavenly voices proclaim “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” you can’t help but think about the climactic “Hallelujah Chorus” of Handel’s Messiah. It is no wonder that on March 23, 1743 at the London premiere of Handel’s Messiah, the entire audience at the Covent Garden Theater rose to their feet with King George II at the beginning of the “Hallelujah Chorus,” thus beginning the tradition of always standing during the singing of this glorious chorus.
When we think about God’s kingdom coming and overtaking this earthly kingdom and him reclaiming his rule and reign, it just makes you want to stand up and sing, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!”
Kingdom Worship (16-17)
It is not surprising that as soon as the reclaiming of God’s rule and reign on earth is announced that the angels in heaven get out of their thrones and fall on their faces before God and worship him. They begin to sing a hymn of thanksgiving to the Lord God Almighty, the Eternal One, for reestablishing his sovereign reign.
Worship is really the only appropriate response to the sovereign omnipotent eternal creator, sustainer, and redeemer of the universe. This is why it is so important to gather with God’s people for worship every Sunday morning. When we come together for church, we corporately humble ourselves before God, remember Jesus’ death and resurrection, and proclaim that he is the most important person in our lives. Worship reminds us of our rightful place before God and it realigns and refocuses our life for the upcoming week!
Worship is an act of humility and thankfulness! When we come together to worship God with his church, we show our thankfulness for who he is and what he has done for us in the past, what he is doing for us in the present, and what he will do for us in the future. When we neglect worship, we assert our arrogance and ingratitude. How important is worship to you?
Kingdom Judgments & Rewards (18)
The second half of the angelic hymn describes the judgments and rewards that accompany the coming of the kingdom of God. The “nations” is a reference to unbelievers—God’s enemies who have rejected his call to repentance, persecuted his church, and destroy the earth by morally corrupting it. The unbeliever’s show their anger toward God, but it is nothing compared to his anger with them. He judges them by pouring out his wrath upon them in eternal damnation.
On the other hand, “servants and prophets and your people who revere your name” is a metaphor for the church, that is, true believers—those who have humbled themselves before God and have repented from their sins. They all receive rewards for their faithfulness and perseverance, regardless of their social, economic, or ecclesiastical status in this life. Rewards will be given to all of God’s people, not just church or government leaders or the wealthy.
Most people like the idea of God dishing out rewards in the afterlife, but they are uncomfortable with the idea of God pouring out his judgment. People love to hear about God’s love and heaven, but they don’t like to hear about God’s wrath and hell.
N. T. Wright is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England and one of the most prominent theologians in our world today. He helps us understand the necessity of God’s wrath when he says:
The biblical doctrine of God’s wrath is rooted in the doctrine of God as the good, wise and loving creator, who hates—yes, hates, and hates relentlessly—anything that spoils, defaces, distorts, or damages his beautiful creation, and in particular anything that does that to his image-bearing creatures. If God does not hate racial prejudice, he is neither good nor loving. If God is not wrathful at child abuse, he is neither good nor loving. If God is not utterly determined to root out from his creation, in an act of proper wrath and judgment, the arrogance that allows people to exploit, bomb, bully and enslave one another, he is neither loving, nor good, nor wise.
When the end of history comes, there are only two options: rewards in heaven or wrath in hell! Which one do you choose?
Kingdom Presence and Power (19)
As history on earth comes to a close, God’s temple in heaven is opened with the Ark of the Covenant there and a storm raging in the background. The temple and the ark are references to the Old Testament Holy of Holies where God’s presence was—here they symbolize God’s presence being open to his people. The storm imagery is symbolic of God’s power and majesty. As God’s kingdom overtakes the earthy kingdom, sin and suffering are eradicated and God’s presence and power are available to his people for eternity.
God certainly has a good sense of humor. I find it ironic that on Thursday afternoon, when I was working on this section of my sermon, John Lennon’s song “Imagine” came on the radio. Here I was reading God’s Word and imagining what God’s kingdom is going to be like while I was listening this song about an atheistic humanistic communistic utopian kingdom sugarcoated in a pretty piano melody. The contrast couldn’t have been clearer—John Lennon was telling me to imagine that there is no heaven, no hell, no religion, and to live for today, ahh-ahh-ahahah. But God was telling me that there is a heaven and there is a hell and that we need to think about tomorrow, you-hoo-oo-oo.
World peace is impossible as long as sin exists! But when thy kingdom comes, sin will be wiped away forever. So, go ahead and imagine! Imagine what it will be like to live in a place where sin doesn’t exist! Imagine—no more international terrorism, nuclear threats, or civil war! Image—no more political discord, economic anxiety, or financial frustration! Imagine—no more marital conflict or family quarrels! Imagine—no more domestic violence or child abuse! Imagine—no more drug addiction or chemical dependency! Imagine—no more sickness, disease, or death! Imagine—no more loss, mourning, or bereavement! Imagine—no more stress or strain, trauma or tension, worry or wondering!
Go ahead and imagine! Imagine! Imagine! Imagine! This is what it will be like when the seventh angel blows his trumpet and we will say, “Thy Kingdom has Come!