Revelation 19:1-2
After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for true and just are His judgments. He has condemned the great prostitute who corrupted the earth by her adulteries. He has avenged on her the blood of His servants.”
People sure do like a strong "Hallelujah!" Several contemporary christian songs feature "Hallelujah!"; having believers sing one, shout one, present a broken one, etc. Some Christian artists are so moved by the phrase they write a whole song named after it; twice. This phrase isn't just popular among believers. Even unbelievers like having a couple of these in their music as well. There are a lot of people singing and saying "Hallelujah!" these days, but do all these people know the meaning of what they are saying? What is the significance of this famous phrase?
As you may have expected, "Hallelujah!" comes from the Bible, but you may be surprised to read that "Hallelujah!" only appears in the Bible four times and all of those times are not only in the same book (Revelation) but also the same chapter (19). The Biblical context shows that "Hallelujah!" is not necessarily a word, but is rather an exclamatory phrase. The phrase in Greek is ἀλληλουϊα (hallélouia), and translated that means "Praise the Lord!" The phrase "Praise the Lord" appears several times in the Bible (especially in Psalms 146 to 150).
So when you say, "Hallelujah!" you are saying "Praise the Lord," but you are not just saying any ordinary praise to the Lord. When you say the phrase "Hallelujah!" you are saying a praise that is from the future.
Did you know there is time travel in the Bible? That's what happens in most of the final book of the Bible, Revelation. The book was written primarily to be a retelling of what John (one of Jesus' disciples) saw revealed to him, concerning the future of the Church. John saw the future and he wrote about it in the past (time travel), and one of the things he wrote about was the destruction of a horrible city.
This city was referred to as "Babylon;" not to say that this is the city's exact name, but to name it prophetically in reference to the ancient and destroyed city where the Isrealites were exiled for disobeying God (Jeremiah 29:20). This terrible city's full title reads, "Babylon the great: the mother of prostitutes and of the abominations of the earth," (Revelation 17:5). What John sees of the future is that this city is responsible for all that is abominable and abhorrent on earth (Revelation 18:2-3). It is a place where Christians will be killed so much that one could say the city is drunk on its killing of Christ's followers (Revelation 17:6). This is a terrible city, and one day all of Christ's followers will be called out of it (Revelation 18:4). Then God will destroy that city (Revelation 18:21), for all of its sins (Revelation 18:5,8). When this happens all those with power (Revelation 18:9-10) and all those with wealth made on the land (Revelation 18:11) and sea (Revelation 18:17-18) will weep for this city. Meanwhile, though, those who are in Christ will be shouting something much different that can be seen in Revelation chapter 19 from verses 6 to 8:
“Hallelujah!
For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad
and give Him glory!
For the wedding of the Lamb has come,
and His bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean,
was given her to wear.”
(Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
The bride mentioned in the above verses refers to the Church (Ephesians 5:25-27). It is the church that will one day shout "Hallelujah!" when "Babylon", a city representing the enemies of God and their wickedness, will be judged and destroyed by God. That is the Biblical origin and meaning of the phrase "Hallelujah!" We would all be wise to remember this the next time we say or sing "Hallelujah!" It's not a simple phrase, but a phrase that points to the world's future, the destruction of the wicked, the glory of God and the joy of those who follow Him.
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary
- Biblehub: ἀλληλουϊα (hallélouia)
- Got Questions: Babylon
- Open Bible Info: The Bride of Christ
No comments:
Post a Comment