“Then I looked and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.”
Revelation 14:14 ( NAB)
The word Hallelujah is actually two Hebrew words: Hillel (praise) and Yahweh (Lord). “HillelYaweh” which turned into one word, “Hallelujah”.
So it is literally saying “Praise the Lord.” Angels sang Hallelujahs during the highlighted events of Jesus’ time on earth. The first time was when the Son of God was born, but there was no room for Him in the Inn. As He lay in a stable, the vision of angels singing Hallelujahs appeared to shepherds, while they were watching their flocks. I’m sure another time that Hallelujahs were sung in heaven, was as angels rolled the stone away from the tomb, when Jesus rose from the dead. It was the most powerful moment in history, an event that forever divided time from B.C. to A. D.
We will sing Hallelujah as long as we live because it expresses praise to the Lord. There is a personal Hallelujah moment for each of us, when we invited Jesus into our own Inn, our life. After we receive His Spirit, He remodels our Inn by His resurrection power. He is gradually transforming us during our faith journey, taking us through the steps to becoming better, making us into a new creation. With Jesus dwelling within us, we are empowered to walk out of any tomb that holds us down. He wants us to walk in freedom, and He promised us we can do even greater things if we believe, and that deserves a Hallelujah! There is one more day coming when Hallelujahs will be sung from Heaven, loud and clear, for the world to hear. Through John’s vision in Revelation, we get a tiny peek into Heaven, and it’s filled with images of worship, thunder, smoke, incense, trumpets, harps, a golden altar, angels and all the saints of God singing praises. Just reading about, overwhelms our senses, with that combination of sights and sounds. John also heard a great multitude in heaven saying, “Alleluia! Salvation, glory, and might belong to our God, for true and just are his judgments.” (Revelation 19:1) He described one of his many visions of Jesus, as sitting on a white cloud with a gold crown on His head and a sickle in His hand. The good shepherd who died to save us will return to the earth one day, crowned as the King of Kings, to render His final judgement. It makes me wonder why Hallelujahs would be sung on the day of judgement. Maybe because we will all be amazed to see the people who finally received His offer of mercy, especially those who we knew and prayed for. That leaves only one word that can adequately express the gratitude, awe and glory of that moment; and it’s Hallelujah! It’s a word that seals our confession of faith, of everything we ever believed about Jesus, from His birth, death, resurrection, to His final judgement. It is the song that forever belongs to the Lord Jesus. To Him who was, and is and is to come, no other words suffice except “Hallelujah! Amen.