Day 28: Revelation 11:16-19

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
The nations were angry,
and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your people who revere your name,
both great and small—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

Many of the prophets of the Old Testament speak of “The Day of the Lord.” Amos refers to it as a day of “darkness, not light.” Micah says, "I will assemble the lame And gather the outcasts, Even those whom I have afflicted.” All throughout the prophets, the message of The Day of the Lord is this tension of destruction and restoration – two sides of the same coin. It would seem as though there will not be one without the other. In this passage of Revelation, John bears witness to the refining work of God’s justice. And this is the hope of the new creation, that injustice and sin will be destroyed and that God will gather his people and in so doing bring about the reign of a new Kingdom.

Wes Reece | Associate Worship Pastor