Heaven's Hallelujah Chorus Series

It is a good thing God enjoys laughter because some of life's funniest

moments happen in church. Carolyn Crane tells about how her

husband Dan stood up for the final hymn one Sunday, and his foot had

gone to sleep; it buckled under him, and he fell sideways into the aisle.

Two men came quickly to his aid, and they got him back into the pew

on his one good leg. A third man would have helped too, but he was

laughing so hard, he was of no use. Dan stood through the closing

hymn on one leg, like a stork, or the crane that he was. His wife could

tell by the many different versions of the song that people were having

a hard time concentrating. But by the end of the hymn things seemed

just about back under control. Then the pastor stood up and

dismissed the congregation with the benediction--"And now unto Him

who is able to keep us from falling...." Even the most solemn and

pious could not restrain their laughter.

It may seem like an inappropriate way to end a service, but in the

light of Revelation 19, it may not be at all, for hilarity seems to be

commonplace in heaven. This chapter is loaded with extreme

excitement and exuberance in the very presence of God. The entire

population of the redeemed of all time, plus the innumerable angelic

host, and every being in the universe capable of making sound, joined

in the wildest and loudest display of emotion that we have on record.

The apostle John is an old man as he is having this heavenly vision,

but he has no problem hearing the song. He says it was like a roar,

and the great multitude was shouting. They were joined by another

vast choir who cried out, and then another multitude joined in like a

roar of rushing waters, and like loud peals of thunder. One thing is

for sure, nobody will ever go to sleep in a heavenly praise service.

Thank God we will have new bodies that will not get headaches when

the volume reaches thunder levels.

What we have here in Rev.19 is the heartiest, happiest, holiest,

heavenliest Hallelujah Chorus of all times. The whole universe of

beings is roaring with rejoicing, and shouting with a song of supreme

satisfaction, because of the battle of good and evil has been won, and

good is the victor. The forces of darkness and evil have been defeated,

and the winners are celebrating. They have won the gold in the

universal Olympics, and they are compelled to praise God at the top

of their voices for this ultimate victory. Thus, we have a song like no

other in the entire Bible. This heavenly Hallelujah Chorus stands

alone as--

1. The loudest song in the Bible.

2. The most universal song in the Bible.

3. The song most full of Hallelujah in the Bible. Four

times in verses 1-6. This is the only place in the New Testament

where the word is used.4. It is the happiest song in the Bible, for it celebrates

the victory over evil, and the wedding of Christ and His Bride.

God gave John this vision and that is why we have this record of the

heavenly Hallelujah Chorus. The famous earthly Hallelujah Chorus

by George Frederic Handel also had it's origin in a God given vision.

Handel was in a severe state of depression in 1741. He was 57 years

old, deeply in debt, and going nowhere. He began to read a Sacred

Oratorio, where the words of Isaiah caught his attention--"Wonderful,

Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of

Peace." He was inspired to compose, and for 24 days he remained in

seclusion to write. He sometimes would not eat his food. At times he

would jump up and wave his hands in the air shouting Hallelujah.

Later he reported, "I think I did see all heaven before me, and the

great God Himself."

His Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland in 1742, and it

was an immediate success. It circled the globe as one of the musical

masterpieces of all times. Newman Flower said, "Considering the

immensity of the work, and the short time involved in putting it to

paper, it will remain, perhaps forever, the greatest feat in the whole

history of musical composition."

I don't think it is a mere coincidence that the great song on earth

and the great song in heaven are both Hallelujah Choruses.

Hallelujah means praise the Lord, or praise Jehovah, and it will be a

major word in our vocabulary for all eternity. It is the main word in

the chorus of The Battle Hymn Of The Republic--"Glory! glory!

hallelujah! Glory! glory! hallelujah! Glory! glory! hallelujah! His