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America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations point beyond national pride to an even greater and eternal celebration: the worship of Christ, the Lamb who reigns forever.

Over the weekend, Americans celebrated their semiquincentennial. July 4 is always a major time of celebration, but when you have the 250^th anniversary of America’s founding via the Declaration of Independence, and Americaphile Donald Trump in charge (can you imagine what it would have been like if Kamala were in the White House?!), it was a very special time indeed.

This is my third piece on Independence Day in the US. The two previous pieces were more historical and political in nature: (1)(2)

This one will be more spiritual in nature. And let me begin with this confession: I had greatly disliked America back in my youthful and godless hippy days. Being heavily immersed in the counterculture and the dopey dreams of some socialist paradise (which has never happened), I wanted to see my country destroyed and replaced with a Marxist mirage.

Now that I am a Christian and a conservative, I am very thankful for the land of my birth. Of course, no nation is perfect in a fallen world, and America has issues. But still, it seems God has been with it, and it can only continue to be great if we put God first and foremost in our lives and keep this nation and its leaders in our prayers.

We can sum up the two competing visions this way:

One side has builders; the other side has takers.
One side has creators; the other side has destroyers.
One side has producers; the other side has parasites.
One side focuses on success; the other side focuses on failure.
One side loves the West despite all its faults; the other side hates the West despite all its benefits.
One side champions liberty; the other side champions slavery.
One side favours morality; the other side favours immorality.
One side stands with God; the other side stands against God.

This is the war we are in.

The July 4 celebration

I have now lived outside of America longer than I lived in it. Some years ago – mainly to keep tabs on US elections – I got the cheapest Foxtel subscription available. It is no longer that cheap, but I still use it. So I spent a lot of time this past weekend watching the celebrations. While Fox News, of course, covered it all weekend, many of the mainstream media outlets covered it much less. Many completely ignored the two Trump speeches, for example.

But I soaked it up. I got teary-eyed over Trump and Co at Mount Rushmore on July 3. I got teary-eyed over Trump and Co at Washington DC on July 4. I am happy to say that I am proud to be an American. It is times like this that I wish I were back in America.

And most normal people (except all those who hate Trump, hate America, hate the West, and have an incurable case of TDS) would have loved the weekend events and got choked up as well. It was quite a spectacle, with the speeches, the music, the songs, the displays, the fireworks, the joy, the pride, and so on. It was wonderful to behold.

An even greater celebration

But as I was watching and enjoying all this – as wonderful as it was – I knew of course that it was at best an incomplete and imperfect celebration of an incomplete and imperfect nation being led by an incomplete and imperfect president.

Yes by all means, it SHOULD have been celebrated, and Americans SHOULD have been proud, and it SHOULD have been a time of great rejoicing for the many great goods that America and Americans have shared with the entire world. The love of liberty alone should warrant all this.

But we await a time when there will be a perfect and complete celebration over a perfect and complete event by a perfect and complete individual. And what is so neat is that Scripture gives us various looks at how the worship of God is taking place and will take place.

Jesus of course will be such a major focus of this, and it is terrific to have much of the book of Revelation taken up with this glorious and wondrous theme. Worthy is the Lamb! What God has done for us lost sinners by sending his Son to make a way for us to get back into right relationship with him can never be fully fathomed or appreciated.

But we will have all of eternity to give it a go. The praise and worship will never stop. The celebrations will go on throughout eternity. The rejoicing and festivities will make America’s 250^th celebration pale in comparison.

Consider some of the passages in Revelation that speak to this:

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,

“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying,

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they existed and were created.”

~ Revelation 4:6-11

And they sang a new song, saying,

“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”

Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice,

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.

~ Revelation 5:9-14

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

~ Revelation 11:15-18

And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mingled with fire—and also those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying,

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
O Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
O King of the nations!
Who will not fear, O Lord,
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

~ Revelation 15:2-4

The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments.
For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets,
and you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

And I heard the altar saying,

“Yes, Lord God the Almighty,
true and just are your judgments!”

~ Revelation 16:4-7

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who was seated on the throne, saying, “Amen. Hallelujah!” ⁵ And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
you who fear him,
small and great.”

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

~ Revelation 19:1-10

Now THAT is celebration. That is worth celebrating. And that celebration will never end.

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Republished with thanks to CultureWatch. Image courtesy of Adobe.