David Bahn – Reflections

Join me in praying these psalms on this Lord’s Day. He loves us so much!

Psalm 119 (various verses)

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall 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 thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
¹⁸ 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.”

– Revelation 11:15-18 [ESV]

Maybe you know someone who is bigger than life. She walks into a room and the air is taken out. Everyone is enamored by her intellectual prowess. No one can hold a candle to her. You may also know someone who is constantly overlooked. He has great ideas, is fiercely loyal,  and truly humble. But no one gives him a second look. 

Both of these meet at the foot of the cross and in the glory of heaven. The great and small alike who fear the name of Jesus will find a place in the eternal kingdom of God. Both will be in awe of the Lamb who reigns. Both will sing praises to God. Both will count it a great privilege to be there. Both will rejoice in  the chasm-spanning reach of the grace of God. Both will experience unfettered and unhindered the steadfast love of God. Both will sing his praises in exuberant joy and stunning humility. 

If arrogance and pride is the source and substance of all sin, then humility and admitted poverty of spirit marks the heart of the redeemed. Hubris is the calling card of the sinful man. Fear of God is the wise choice of those who desire his good. 

There will be a great leveling on the Last Day. The high and mighty will be brought low. The humble will be raised up. And they will meet as true sisters and brothers in Christ, and rejoice together in God’s majesty, power and eternal reign. All men, great and small will proclaim that Jesus is Lord to the glory of the Father, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall 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 thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
¹⁸ 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.”

– Revelation 11:15-18 [ESV]

I don’t consider myself to have many enemies. I don’t avoid certain people or constantly look over my shoulder in my day to day life. Perhaps that’s because I tend toward the safer places of the world. I don’t hang out in places where crime is rampant, or danger lurks. I live a fairly protected life – as far as day to day life is concerned. 

But that view is truly myopic. It does not take into account the terrors of war, the tumult at the border, or the tragedy of human trafficking. I’m too prone to bemoan these things from afar. I pray about them – though not nearly as often or fervently as I should. And when I read the Imprecatory Psalms, I cringe at the strong language and ill will the psalmist focuses toward his enemies. The expressions of anguish at God’s distance and disappointment at his delay in rescue seem far removed from my life. I live too often in blissful ignorance of the evils all around me. 

But that does not mean evil is not present and pressing in on me from every side. Nor is it far from you or any of us. The devil roams around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Sin and death claw at us daily, and the terrible realities of our fallen and broken world are ever present.  

But one day – the Great Last Day – all these things will be no longer. Relief will be more sweet to those who suffer under sin’s weight, and evil’s influence. But we who have not had to bear the direct threats of death, torture, or persecution will also discover a new joy. We will discover just how oppressive Satan and sin’s power truly are. A weight we did not realize we were carrying will be lifted and the lifting will bring us such relief and joy that we will gladly join in the hymn of praise to God, the Lamb, the One who will take his great power and assume his rightful place in the hearts of all. 

His servants will be rewarded. His enemies judged. His people – great and small will fully and finally enjoy the salvation he has won for us. And as I think of this, I wonder why he did it? What is the purpose of all this? Why is there a heaven? Why will there be a Last Day? And while I’m not sure I should ask why, I can at least surmise that it is because God loves us and has redeemed us. And we who fear him and not those who can kill the body, will rest forever in his gracious love and the scales that have been balanced at the cross. The empty tomb is a guarantee of all this. And as we wait for the destroyers to be destroyed, can look forward to the restoration of all things and know that some Day all things will be made right with the world. 

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall 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 thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
¹⁸ 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.”

– Revelation 11:15-18 [ESV]

There is an idea suggested by some biblical scholars that the Gospel of Mark heightens the mysterious nature of Jesus’ ministry, especially the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and the Messiah of God. A simple explanation is offered on Wikipedia: The “Messianic secret was invented in order to conceal the fact that the disciples only came to believe in Jesus as Messiah when they had become convinced of the truth of His Resurrection.” 

It is clear that the 12 disciples really didn’t have a full grasp of Jesus’ identity or mission. They didn’t believe that he was going to die, much less that he would actually rise from the dead. Jesus would chide them for their hardness of heart and unwillingness to believe. On one occasion they asked, “Who is this that even the wind and the seas obey him?” (Cf. Matthew 8:27)

But there will come a day when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. And here we have a vision of that. And there is no holding back. When it comes to proclaiming that “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever,” there is no holding back. They cry out with a loud voice. 

Pride is a – if not the – primal sin. It is the root of all evil. But in the spirit of Galatians 6:14, we lay aside all boasting in favor of boasting in Jesus Christ. And that is exactly what these worshipers are doing. 

So now the question: Do you boast in your favorite sports team? Your children or grandchildren? Your address? Your stock portfolio (though not likely these days!). Are you as vocal as that when it comes to your praise of God? Do you sing out in worship – even if it is more a joyful noise than truly singing? Are you loud and proud of Jesus? 

I am deeply distressed in the notion of pride of any kind. Even of being an American, a Christian, a Lutheran, a Texan, or even a public servant. And the idea of pride over sinful lifestyles is beyond me. But proudly claim Jesus as Lord is a secret of which we need never be ashamed.

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall 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 thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
¹⁸ 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.”

– Revelation 11:15-18 [ESV]

Several years ago a fellow pastor uncovered a profound lesson about thankfulness. Thanksgiving was right around the corner. We pastors were meeting for our monthly circuit meeting. He shared a message about thankfulness. He made the point that thanklessness was a key sin to which Paul points in Romans 2, saying,

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰ For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.²¹ For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, [emphasis added] but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” (Romans 1:18-21) 

I had not previously realized that thanklessness is a sin as grave as it apparently is. Failing to honor God by giving thanks to him completely misses the mark. Thanking God for his gifts, his grace, his kindness is an essential expression of faith. Not only is thankfulness an expression of faith – the reality of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen – it is the abiding action of the redeemed in heaven. Thanksgiving is not reserved for people in this life and this world today. We will continually express our thanks to God even when we have realized the fullness of his love and salvation.

This says something about thanksgiving. It’s not a feigned expression of appropriate appreciation so that we may be shown to be worthy of the gifts we have received. It is not something we do so that we may be sure to receive more. True thankfulness is something we do because we are convinced of God’s kindness to us and the richness of his grace given to us. 

This praise flows from the redeemed of God who have nothing to gain by being thankful. They express their thanks to God so completely and fully that they fall on their faces before God. They are fully and wholeheartedly thankful. 

So the question for us, is whether we are now willingly and wholeheartedly giving thanks to God. We’re going to be doing it for quite some time – throughout all eternity. There it will never be feigned. Here it may be too quickly abandoned in the press of life’s challenges. But we can thank God now and through all eternity for his faithful love, lavish grace, abundant forgiveness, and eternal salvation. 

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, 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 shall 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 thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
    who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
    and begun to reign.
¹⁸ 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.”

– Revelation 11:15-18 [ESV]

My friend, you may recall, would say, “Eternity lasts a long, long time.” His observation was that our time here on earth is momentary. We’re here today and gone tomorrow. By the most literalistic reckoning, if the earth is less than 10,000 years old, 100 years is one one-hundredth of that time. We haven’t even scratched the surface of eternity by that measure. 

Furthermore, we tend to think of eternity in the future sense. We think in terms of time going on and on into the infinite future. And that’s not untrue. But eternity stretches both ways. As the hymn above says, 

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.”

It is clear that the eternal nature of God, stretches from before the foundations of time to beyond time’s end. And the vision here is of the beginning of God’s reign in a new way. He reigns in glory and perfect completion. 

The only thing lacking in that reign today is our realization of it, and the end of all war, sin, death, rebellion, and unbelief. There will come a time when every mouth will be silenced in awe of the majesty and glory of God. But every mouth will also be loosed in praise of God’s glorious grace.

John was given a vision of that reign. We will one day see it to…in eternity, and for eternity. The one who was and is will have come to us and we will celebrate his glory forever and ever. That is an eternal truth that will be celebrated in eternal praise of our God, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer and our King. 

Join me in praying these psalms on this Lord’s Day. He loves us so much!

Psalm 24

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

– Revelation 7:9-14 [ESV]

The story is barbed, fictional, but instructive. Not all scientists are atheists. But this story has an atheist scientist challenging God: I can create life. We’re on the verge of doing it. I will prove it. God, indulgently says, OK. Have at it. The scientist picks up some dirt he proposes to use to make his point. Wait just a minute, God interrupts. Get your own dirt!

Scripture is clear on this: “The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). His are the cattle on a thousand hills. The gold is his. The mountains are his. He sets the boundaries for the raging sea. Check out Job 38 and following if you want a reminder of the far-reaching implications of all that.

But in these verses from Revelation, all this has been realized. John is showing us what reality truly is, and will be shown to have been from before the foundation of the world. There is no gloating here. There is no need for comeuppance toward those who deny God’s existence or sovereignty. But note well what is celebrated! Just as St. Paul speaks of in Ephesians 1:6, God’s glorious grace is celebrated here. This is not a told-you-so moment. This is a celebration of God’s goodness, love, mercy, kindness, and salvation. All praise to him for sharing these gifts!

Consider the list: Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might. They all belong to God. And he gives them freely to those who love him, who trust him, who serve him, who have faith in him. 

And that’s a good thing. For we don’t always fear, love, and trust in God above all things. We fall short. We sin. That’s why the blessing of salvation is so important. The multitude before the Lamb remind us: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 

That salvation is God’s rescue of lost sinners. It’s God’s redemption of wayward fallen creatures. It’s God’s ransom from the devil, death, and the evils of the world. It’s all the doing of God. The lamb was slain for us. He won our salvation by taking our sin, sickness, and rebellious self-defeating actions upon himself. He took it all into his being, and it killed him. But now he reigns. And the salvation that belongs to our God is his gift to all. 

Sadly not all want this gift. They want to live under the delusion that they can chart their own course. They don’t want to be accountable. They do not want to admit they need a Savior. We can do nothing about that except continue to proclaim the truth of God’s majestic might and his glorious grace. In the end his might will be fully realized by all, and his salvation will be enjoyed by all who believe. 

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” That’s a brutal lesson for atheists, but the joyful confession of we who believe!

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

– Revelation 7:9-14 [ESV]

I was listening to a commentary by Steve West, Perspective of a thousand years, on The World and Everything in It podcast. He made the point that living 1000 years would give someone a sense of eternity. I guess that’s right. But 1000 years doesn’t even touch the edge of forever. Like a friend of mine used to say, “Eternity lasts a long, long time.”

That gives new gravitas to hymn of praise. “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” If these acclamations of blessing, glory, wisdom, honor, power, and might are to be eternally expressed and realized, the nature of both the One receiving the praise and those who praise him must be perfectly in sync. God must be worthy of this. Those who praise him must delight in giving him that praise; and never flag in that delight. Eternity lasts a long, long time. 

Recent conversations about heaven and loved-ones who have died have tended toward delighting in seeing their loved ones who have gone on before. There is great comfort in that anticipation. My sisters would be 58 and 67 years old if they were still alive. My mom would be 99 and my dad would be 101. I look forward to seeing them and feeling great joy and love with them. We would have so much to say to each other. But I wonder whether that conversation would last 1000 years. Maybe it would. I don’t know. 

But the main focus of these hymns in Revelation point us to an eternity of praise to God. And in that space and place we will never grow weary of doing that. The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness (Lamentations 3:22-23). There will be a new cause for praise to God each new morning in heaven. and our focus will be fixed on God. 

The hymn, Behold a Host Arrayed in White expresses beautifully the joy of singing the praises of the One who is worthy of all blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might forever and ever! Amen!

Behold a Host, Arrayed in White

Behold a host, arrayed in white, Like thousand snow-clad mountains bright!
    With palms they stand; Who is this band Before the throne of light?
These are the saints of glorious fame, Who from the great affliction came
    And in the flood Of Jesus’ blood Are cleansed from guilt and shame.
They now serve God both day and night; They sing their songs in endless light.
    Their anthems ring As they all sing With angels shining bright.

 

Despised and scorned, they sojourned here; But now, how glorious they appear!
    Those martyrs stand, A priestly band, God’s throne forever near.
On earth they wept through bitter years; Now God has wiped away their tears,
    Transformed their strife To heav’nly life, And freed them from their fears.
They now enjoy the Sabbath rest, The heav’nly banquet of the blest;
    The Lamb, their Lord, At festive board Himself is host and guest.

 

O blessèd saints in bright array Now safely home in endless day,
    Extol the Lord, Who with His Word Sustained you on the way.
The steep and narrow path you trod; You toiled and sowed the Word abroad;
    Rejoice and bring Your fruits and sing Before the throne of God.
The myriad angels raise their song; O saints, sing with that happy throng!
    Lift up one voice; Let heav’n rejoice In our Redeemer’s song!

Text: Public domain

David Bahn-Reflections Podcast

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” ¹¹ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, ¹² saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

¹³ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

¹⁵ “Therefore they are before the throne of God,
    and serve him day and night in his temple;
    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
¹⁶ They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
    the sun shall not strike them,
    nor any scorching heat.
¹⁷ For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
    and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

– Revelation 7:9-14 [ESV]

There is great danger in  celebrity Christianity endorsements. If they are genuine in their faith, and point people toward Jesus as their hope and Savior, well and good. But we tend too easily to turn a celebrity’s testimony into something about the celebrity. Isn’t he great to claim faith in God, we think. Like somehow fame and stardom render us a more precious catch for God, and a greater impact in witnessing. And if they fall, their fame can leverage a great outcry of derision for the faith. 

The devil knows this. That’s why he tempted Jesus as he did, “If you are the Son of God” (and who could be more famous than that?!?) “Throw yourself down from the pinnacle of the temple.” Make a show of your grand identity. Let everyone see just how great you really are. Be famous! You’ll surely gather a crowd. 

Only Jesus didn’t want merely to gather a crowd. He was not at all interested in fame. He had no use for grandstanding gimmicks. He is the Son of God. He had no need to prove it. So when anyone acknowledges him as such, it is actually merely appropriate. Famous people don’t do God any favors by endorsing Jesus. And ordinary or even forgettable people have no less impact than the famous. In fact there is a heavenly party whenever one sinner repents (cf. Luke 15, and the PC&D Youtube video below). 

Nevertheless when we see this picture of heaven with living creatures, elders, angels and multitudes of people falling down in worship of the Lamb, it makes an impression. Every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). And not only do they fall down in worship, they fall on their faces in worship. This is no half-hearted acknowledgement. This is from the core of their being honor being bestowed on our Lord.

Next time you gather with others in worship, think of this scene. And join with the heavenly host, the great and small, the famous and infamous in majestic humility, praising God. For he alone is worthy. And whether or not you are famous, your worship of him is a delight to me, your brothers and sisters in Christ, the whole host of heaven, and to God himself.