Day 29 - Thank God!
- Pastor b.Side
- Apr 28, 2025
- 3 min read
“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned.”- Revelation 11:17
Many people see the future as uncertain. However, the Bible clearly explains what is to come. God has revealed His plans and intentions concerning His promises to judge and bless the world. He has given us many prophecies that detail the major events and their order. Since several of these prophecies have already been fulfilled, we can trust in God’s power to fulfill the ones we are still awaiting. The prophecy that the Father emphasizes is the promise to openly reveal the full glory of His power through the return of Jesus Christ.
“We give You thanks…”
The testimony of Revelation 11:17 shows a group that is excited and grateful to see the fulfillment of this promise. The passage begins with the words, “We give You thanks.” Who is giving thanks? The earlier verses identify this group as the “twenty-four elders.” While we can’t say for certain who the twenty-four elders are, scripture does confirm that they help facilitate worship in heaven for the true church of Jesus Christ. The scene in Revelation 11:17 depicts the people of God in heaven, praising the LORD as He prepares to move on to the next phase of His judgments.
“O Lord God Almighty…”
Notice how the church refers to Jesus. They call Him “Lord God Almighty.” There is no doubt or debate among believers in heaven about the true identity of Jesus Christ. He is God, and as God in the flesh, He is Israel’s Messiah. This means that Israel’s Messiah is El Shaddai! Jesus is the One who holds all power and authority in heaven and on earth, and the church celebrates ALL of the ways that Jesus manifests His power to fulfill the promises of the Father.
“The One who is and who was and who is to come…”
The church also praises Jesus’ unchanging power as the Messiah. The Messiah is the One who Is. The Apostle John saw Jesus die, but Jesus was alive when John documented this prophecy. The Messiah is the One who Was. Jesus existed before this prophecy, before His incarnation, and before the foundation of the world! The Messiah is the One who Will Come. Jesus will return to the world to fulfill the promises of scripture regarding the administration of judgments and blessings. The church is focused on this truth and celebrates it while Jesus prepares to fulfill it!
“Because You have taken Your great power and reigned…”
Why does the church thank Jesus at this time? He is showing His great power to rule the world. The church is grateful that Jesus is destroying His enemies. The church is thankful that Jesus is using His great power to judge sin and evil by completely defeating the works of darkness and the devil who influences them. The church is thankful that Jesus is dismantling manmade systems and ideologies of the world so that He can reign on Earth as He does in heaven. This is how Jesus reveals His power in the end, and scripture shows that the church will be united in thankfulness for Him doing so.
Prayer for today
Our heavenly Father, thank You for revealing Your plans to us. Knowing You will fulfill Your promises, we don’t need to be anxious about the future. The Word describes our gratitude in the future as You manifest Your power to judge while preserving us from that judgment. Help us live with that same quality of gratitude and praise today, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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