Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | May 3, 2013

“You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign … Your wrath came”

Today’s devotion comes from Revelation 11:15-19.
 
“15 Then the seventh angel sounded;  and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
 
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ;  and He will reign forever and ever.”  16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
 
“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.  18 And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
 
19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened;  and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”  Revelation 11:15-19.
 
—————————-
 

At first glance, it may be puzzling to read in today’s Scripture that God “begun to reign” in verse 17 and that “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ” in verse 15.  We know that God has reigned before then and that God reigns “forever and ever”.  But, this language makes us realize the importance to God’s reign of these last days, this judgment, and this wrath of God.

We see this a little in Psalm 2:6-9.

“6 “But as for Me, I have installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

7 “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,
And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,
You shall shatter them like earthenware.’” 

We see this a little in Exodus 15:18-19. 

“18 “The Lord shall reign forever and ever.”

19 For the horses of Pharaoh with his chariots and his horsemen went into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the sons of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea.”

We see this a little in Psalm 96:10-13.

“10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;
He will judge the peoples with equity.”

11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
12 Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before the Lord, for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.”

We see this a little in Psalm 97:1-6.

“1 The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
3 Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
4 His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
5 The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.
6 The heavens declare His righteousness,
And all the peoples have seen His glory.” 

We see this a little in Psalm 99:1

“The Lord reigns, let the peoples tremble;  He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!”
 
And so, as we read Revelation, much of which causes us to so tremble, let us better understand that this display of God’s judgment and wrath is an important part of God’s reign.
 
Therefore, let us join those loud voices in heaven “saying.
 
“We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.  And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”  Verses 17 and 18.
 

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