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Today's reading
December 13, 2025
Revelation 19:1-2,4,6
It was a brutal winter in Virginia in 1863.
The brittle glass panes fought frost, masking what little light remained from the war-torn wasteland outside—socked in with haze and lifeless gray. It was Christmas morning, yet there was no Joy in the world of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
He was numb, ragged as he sat beside his wounded son’s bed while generals hurled young men toward cannon fire in a brutal war of attrition just a few miles away. Henry was cold and hollowed-out by grief. His wife’s death in a fire had drained the color from his life; now his son lay dying. What would be left of him if Charles slipped away too?
For months, church bells had rung—each somber chime a knell for another boy lost on the battlefield. Henry wondered how long before his song was reduced to fading vibrations in the
winter air.
In his malaise he wrote:
“And in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
He feared evil was winning. And his son would be another of its casualties.
John knew that feeling as well.
As the apostle received his Revelation, he saw a leader rise who desecrated the sacred. He watched a debased world order fully flower—one that fed on evil with unashamed appetite. He saw judgment fall, plagues descend, sickness and devastation pummel the worshipers of the beast. The vision was a world of dust, ash, tears, and trembling.
And if John were to somehow escape that vision, he would find himself still exiled on a desolate rock—Patmos—watching the distant shoreline and wondering what had become of the faithful followers who were drawing the ire of the empire.
But suddenly, in his vision, the tide turned.
Revelation 18 records the collapse of Babylon—the evil world order Satan had been building throughout history. And in an instant, John was surrounded by an unfathomable multitude seized with excitement and wonder. They had gathered not for a somber service but to proclaim the victory of their King.
Just as Longfellow had awakened by the sound of bells,
John was overwhelmed by a sound—
Not from a church tower,
but from heaven itself.
A multitude.
Loud as a waterfall.
Thunderous with anticipation.
Shaking the cosmos with praise.
“After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
‘Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!
For true and righteous are His judgments…’”
Revelation 19:1–2 (NKJV)
Heaven was singing because the moment had come.
The great enemy of God’s people—Babylon—had fallen.
The tyrants who had spilled the saints’ blood were judged.
The world’s counterfeit kingdoms sank into the deep like a millstone.
The dragon and the beast were wounded, gasping as they awaited the final blow from the King of kings.
Justice had finally broken open, and evil could not stand.
As the bells chimed on Christmas Day, Longfellow felt the courage to believe again. He chose to hear hope in the melody. He chose to see God’s hand in the dark.
And as he did he dipped his pen and wrote:
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep,
“God is not dead, nor does He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth, goodwill to men”
For Longfellow, it was the bells.
For John, it was the roar of heaven that enlightened his mind and revived his heart.
Revelation 19 is hardly a hymn—it is the battle shout of triumph, rising from people and creatures who have waited for God’s righteousness to rise and roll across the world.
For centuries, God’s people had suffered under Egypt, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome.
For centuries, injustice mocked righteousness.
For centuries, the grip of tyrannical men seemed to shape the course of history.
For centuries, martyrs cried, “How long, O Lord?”
And John in Revelation 19 was granted the privilege of hearing God’s answer to that question:
“Alleluia!
For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns!”
Revelation 19:6
Christmas began this victory.
The incarnation was God’s invasion.
At Bethlehem, the Prince of Peace slipped quietly into enemy-occupied territory.
His cross delivered the mortal wound to Satan’s dominion (Col. 2:15).
His resurrection shattered the chains of death.
His church advanced His mission.
And Revelation 19 shows us how the story ends.
One day evil will tremble before the omnipotent Ruler of the universe.
One day the cries of the oppressed will be answered with fire.
One day heaven will break hell’s grasp on the hearts of men.
And on that day, the church will sing:
“Amen! Alleluia!”
Revelation 19:4
As we inch closer to the birth of Jesus, the ringing of bells and heaven’s triumphant song remind us:
God defeats His enemies.
God defends His people.
God always keeps His promises.