And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

The 24 Elders Praise God

This short song of praise is the expression of the victory that has been proclaimed by the heavenly choir of vs. 15. It expresses the emotion of all of God’s people, both Old Testament and New, which are represented by the 24 elders, 12 OT Tribes, 12 NT Disciples.

This moment is what all of God’s people, the persecuted, the dispersed, the wanderers and the pilgrims have been longing and praying for.

Abraham left his home looking for that city whose builder and maker was God. Hebrews 11:8–10 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.  By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:  For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount and called people to the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 5:3–12 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.  Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

All those combined and multiplied prayers are now going to be answered as the seventh trumpet sounds. All that hope, all that faith, all that expectation will be at last realized when the Kingdoms of earth become the kingdom of our God.

And so the 24 elders, the representation of all believers, fall on their face, they worship and praise God, who has now answered the last unanswered prayer of all God’s people throughout history.
And that brings up a question?...

Are We praying for The Kingdom?

One day we will be in that throng, gathered round the throne and we will see these events play out just as John did. We will sing the songs of praise to Him as King and judge. We will lift our voices with the chorus of heaven and sing, “Revelation 11:17 We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.”

If we are the redeemed, if we are the children of God, if we are saved and sanctified by the blood of the lamb then what we just read will happen and we will be there! Now until that day we should be preparing for it by praying for the same thing we see these saints have been praying for; the prayer request of the people of God now being fulfilled here in heaven’s throne room. We need to be praying “O Lord God, thy kingdom come.”

Isn’t that what Jesus told us to do in? Matthew 6:9–10  After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. We need to be praying.

Pray for the kingdom of Heaven to come to earth. Yes, pray for Jesus to return. Pray for the sin, pain, sorrow to end. Pray for God to prove to this belligerent, hateful, atheistic world that He rules and reigns. We should also be praying for the Kingdom in another way. We should be praying…

Pray for the kingdom to come to human hearts. When John the Baptist and Jesus were preaching in Israel during Jesus’ first coming their message was…

Matthew 4:17 “…Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
Now they weren’t saying that the kingdom of heaven as we are reading about in Revelation 11 was near. No, they were preaching about entrance into that kingdom, about belonging to that kingdom.  The Kingdom of Heaven one day will be physically on the earth, but until then it is a spiritual kingdom in our heart.

Jesus told Nicodemus, who was looking for that physical Kingdom,
John 3:3-5 …Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Until the seventh trumpet blows, we are to be working and praying to bring people into the Kingdom of Heaven. Do you remember what Jesus told Peter and the Disciples in Matthew 16:19? “I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” The ability, the power and the responsibility to open the kingdom of heaven is now ours. The keys to kingdom are in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and we hold those keys as His church.

Mark 1:15 … The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Yes we need to be praying for Jesus to return, reclaim, and revive this sin corrupted world, but we should also be praying and working to bring that kingdom to the hearts of the lost around us. “Repent for the Kingdom is at hand” has never been a more vital message than it is today.

Illustration: Keep Looking Up!

In a nursing home ministry I had as a Bible College student in DeSoto, Texas, I was once wheeling one of the residents back to her room. I had just finished preaching about the second coming and the sweet lady I was pushing to her room. Looked back over her shoulder and asked. Do you believe Jesus is coming back? I was a little surprised at the question, since I had just finished my sermon about just exactly that. But it wouldn’t be the first time I had put someone to sleep during a sermon so I smiled and said, “Yes Ma’am. I sure do.” She then smiled real big pointed her finger toward heaven and said, “Keep looking up!”

I’ve thought of that encounter many times since then, she preached a message to me that day. Keep looking up, Jesus is coming. Keep looking up, despite fear, pain and sorrow, Jesus is coming. Keep looking up, keep telling the Gospel to those in pain, Jesus is coming back. Just keep looking up!

When the 7th Trumpet sounds all that looking up, praying up and preaching up will come it final fruition and fulfillment.