God hates the principle of Babylon more than anything else. We must note in His presence how much of our being is still not absolute for Him. Anything which is halfway and not absolute is called Babylon. We need God to enlighten us so that in His light we may judge everything in us which is not absolute toward Him. Only when we judge ourselves in this way can we confess that we too hate the principle of Babylon. By His grace, may the Lord not allow us to seek any glory and honor outside of Christ. The Lord requires that we delight and seek to be one who is absolute, not one who is living in the principle of Babylon.

Revelation 19:5 says, "And a voice came out from the throne, saying, Praise our God, all His slaves and those who fear Him, the small and the great." A special feature of the book of Revelation is the proclamations from heaven. We read such things as a "voice out of heaven" and "a voice came out from the throne" (18:4; 19:5). These are declarations from heaven, signifying the time when God speaks, the place where God speaks, and what His emphasis is on. There are definite reasons for the proclamation in Revelation 19:5. On the one hand, it is because the great harlot is judged, and on the other hand, it is looking toward the marriage of the Lamb which is to come. Therefore, there is a proclamation from the throne to give praise to our God. God has been working from eternity and has expended much energy on His work so that He might obtain praise. Ephesians mentions that God has an inheritance in the saints. What is God's inheritance in the saints? There is only one thing that man can render to God—praise. Praise is God's inheritance in the saints. The voice from heaven proclaims that all of God's servants, all who belong to God, both small and great, must praise Him. God's purpose must be fulfilled, and it will be soon. God must obtain what He is after; we all must praise Him.

When the voice from the throne declared that praise be given to God, there was a host of echoes resounding throughout the universe. Revelation 19:6 says, "And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns." On one hand, there was a declaration from the throne, and on the other hand, there was a response of thousands upon thousands, and ten thousands upon ten thousands. As John was listening, he did not hear the voice of a single person; rather, he heard the voice of a great multitude as if it were the voice of many waters and the voice of mighty thunders. When you listen to the noise of a great waterfall or the waves of the ocean, you will realize how loud a voice of many waters can be. The voice of thunder is great enough; how much greater is the voice of mighty thunders! All of these mighty and thunderous voices were saying, Hallelujah! The declaration from heaven, the response from the whole universe, and every voice was saying, Hallelujah, because of a special event which was about to take place. The event is "the Lord our God the Almighty reigns."

As we read this proclamation, what are our hearts set upon? This passage does not say that we will reign and that we should therefore rejoice and be exceeding glad. Neither does it say that we will receive a crown and that we should therefore praise God. It says that the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. God's mind is that He should reign, that He should exercise authority. When God rules, it is Christ who rules. Let us turn back to Revelation 11:15: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever." "Our Lord" refers to God, and "His Christ" refers to Christ. But the pronoun "He" which follows is used rather strangely. Since the passage begins with "our Lord and...His Christ," it seems logical to continue with the phrase, "And they will reign forever and ever." This would be grammatically correct. But it is not written in this way. It is followed by the phrase, "And He will reign forever and ever." This enables us to understand that the Lord's reign is Christ's reign, and Christ's reign is God's reign. The kingdom of God is the kingdom of Christ. The reigning of God is the reigning of Christ. Because God reigns and Christ reigns, everyone rejoices with exceeding gladness and shouts, Hallelujah!