Praising God in the Book of Revelation
Here’s a quiz question. Which book of the Bible expresses praise to God more than any other book? You would say Psalms, right? And yes, you would be right, but have you thought of the book of Revelation as a book of praise to God? I never did until recently, and the reason was that I always focused on the dragon and the terrifying beasts, plagues, and judgments.
Why would there be praise in Revelation? Well, it’s a book that depicts the cosmic struggle between the powers of evil and the powers of good, in the persons of Satan and Jesus. In the history of conquest as in sport, the one who wins gets the praise. Guess who wins in the cosmic conquest as described in the book of Revelation? JESUS WINS!
So go ahead, read the Book and discover the praise. I have grouped and underlined some of that for you here. Read it thoughtfully as you praise God in your heart.
“All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God His Father. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen (Revelation 1:5b-6 NLT). “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created all things, and they exist because You created what You pleased†(Revelation 4:11 NLT).
“Then I looked again, and I heard the voices of thousands and millions of angels around the throne and of the living beings and the elders. And they sang in a mighty chorus: ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered – to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.’ And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: ‘Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the One sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.’ (Revelation 5:11-13 NLT). They sang, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ (Revelation 7:12 NLT).
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
“‘The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.’ The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped Him. And they said, ‘We give thanks to You, Lord God, the Almighty, the One who is and who always was, for now You have assumed Your great power and have begun to reign’ (Revelation 11:15-17 NLT).
“And they were singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: ‘Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are Your ways, O King of the nations. Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before You, for Your righteous deeds have been revealed’ (Revelation 15:3-4 NLT).
“After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting, ‘Praise the LORD! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. His judgments are true and just. He has punished the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality. He has avenged the murder of His servants.’ And again their voices rang out: ‘Praise the LORD! The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!’ Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, ‘Amen! Praise the LORD!’ And from the throne came a voice that said, ‘Praise our God, all His servants, all who fear Him, from the least to the greatest.’ Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder: ‘Praise the LORD! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns’†(Revelation 19:1-6 NLT).
What was the purpose for writing the book of Revelation? Not just to reveal the future. Not just to give us something to tease our minds and to puzzle over, like ‘666.’ Not just to make Adventists feel smarter than everyone else, because we have cracked the code. No, the purpose of the book was to give those suffering – under pagan Roman persecution, under the persecution of the Roman Church’s Inquisition, and right to the end-times – hope, courage, and confidence, because JESUS WINS!
That is why it contains praise – praise to Jesus as the conquering Lamb and Lion of the tribe of Judah. Next time you read Revelation, think of it as a book of PRAISE and HOPE, because JESUS WINS!