“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God… Amen. Hallelujah!” (Revelation 19:1-6, NASB)

In today’s reading, the word “hallelujah” appears four times. It is a Hebrew word meaning “praise Yahweh.” The word can mean both “I praise the Lord” or “you praise the Lord,” as in telling others to praise God. In today’s passage, we can see it being used both ways. It says,

“After these things I heard, as it were, a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, ‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; because His judgments are true and righteous; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and He has avenged the blood of His bond-servants on her.’ And a second time they said, “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever.’ And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne saying, ‘Amen. Hallelujah!’ And a voice came from the throne, saying, ‘Give praise to our God, all you His bond-servants, you who fear Him, the small and the great.’ And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude and as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty peals of thunder, saying, ‘Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.’”

What a beautiful scene in heaven in the midst of all the terrible things described in Revelation! After the Great Tribulation Period, when God poured out His wrath, we are again taken to a heavenly worship service. John described a scene in heaven, where the twenty-four elders, four living creatures, and other angels and humans are both praising God and telling each other to praise God. They praised God for who He is and what He had done. John heard “a great multitude in heaven” saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.” And a little further on, the “twenty-four elders” responded by saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” The multitude in heaven praised God because salvation, glory, and power belonged to Him. They also praised Him because He has saved His people and judged the antichrist and his followers and the great harlot for her deeds in corrupting the earth with her immorality.

What about you? What do you praise God for? Who is God to you, and what character of His do you want to praise? What are some things that God has done that you want to praise Him for? For me, I praise God every day that He is good, loving, just, faithful, holy, and sovereign. I also praise God for His salvation, His forgiveness of my sins, His promises to me, His gift of the Holy Spirit, and His calling to do the work for the kingdom. In all these things, I want to say, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!”

In heaven, when someone calls out, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” and starts sharing all the reasons they wish to praise God, others join in by exclaiming, “Amen! Hallelujah!” before listing their own praises as well. This goes on and on. In other words, worshipers in heaven are saying, “Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah!” and so on. Thus, praising God in heaven never ends. Some people ask me, “Will it get boring in heaven after a while?” I answer them, “How can you get bored in heaven when we have so many things to praise God and thank God for?” Just like the praise song says, “You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing, ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. And on that day, when my strength is failing, the end draws near, and my time has come. Still, my soul will sing Your praise unending, ten thousand years and then forevermore.” There are ten thousand reasons to praise God for ten thousand years and then forevermore! Do you agree? Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Do I hear an “Amen?”

• What do these words mean to you: “Give praise to our God, all you His bondservants, you who fear Him, the small and great?”
• How often do you say, “Hallelujah,” throughout your day?
• How many “hallelujahs” from our lips do you think God deserves?