And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,
Revelation 11:16 NIV
Begun to Reign
As the living embodiment of the Crown, the sovereign is regarded as the personification of the Canadian state and is meant to represent all Canadians, regardless of political affiliation. As such, he, along with his or her viceregal representatives, must “remain strictly neutral in political terms”. The person of the reigning sovereign thus holds two distinct personas in constant coexistence, an ancient theory of the “King’s two bodies”—the body natural (subject to infirmity and death) and the body politic (which never dies).
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One of the great hymns of the Church begins with the words “Jesus shall reign, where’re the sun, does its successive journeys run.” Every Christian longs for the day when Jesus will rule and reign over a redeemed, peaceful, eternal Kingdom, where pain and death are unheard of. In John’s Revelation we read about how the heavenly elders bow before the reigning King. In Revelation 11:16 we read, “And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God,” We can’t begin to imagine what heavenly worship will be like. The angels and elders will be joined by the millions of redeemed from every tribe, tongue and language. The challenge of Babel will be no longer. We will sing new heavenly songs of the redeemed, proclaiming praise to the One who died that we might live. The long-promised Kingdom will finally come in its fullness and King Jesus will be offered the praise and honour that our present worship points to. We need to keep this moment before us as we serve the Lord here. Doing so will keep us grounded as we await that great day.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley