What Is the Song “Joy to the World” About? Reflecting Two Kingdoms

“Joy to the World” was written in 1719 as a musical interpretation of Psalm 98, a prophecy about the coming King. “JOY TO THE WORLD” LYRICS… “Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns. Let all their songs employ. While field and floods, rocks, hills, and plains, repeat the sounding joy…” “He rules the world with truth and grace and makes the nations prove. The glories of His righteousness, and wonders of His love…” PSALM 98 “Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth; break forth in song, rejoice, and sing praises. Sing to the Lord with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a psalm, with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; 8 let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity.” WHAT IS THE PROPHECY IN “JOY TO THE WORLD” ABOUT? This Psalm is a prophecy related to God’s promise of a King who will usher in a kingdom without end and reverse the curse of sin over all creation. TWO KINGDOMS: OF HEAVEN and OF GOD The lyrics of “Joy to the World” reflect the nature of both the “Kingdom of Heaven” and the “Kingdom of God”. While these are similar in Scripture, they are not exactly synonymous. The chorus goes… “Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room and heaven and nature sing.” The “kingdom of heaven” is the rule of heaven on earth. It is a physical kingdom (See Acts 1:5-6, Matthew 3:1-2). The “kingdom of God” is the rule of God in our hearts. It is a spiritual kingdom (See Romans 14:17, Matthew 6:33). So then, how do you enter the “Kingdom of Heaven” and the “Kingdom of God”? You cannot enter the kingdom of heaven until you have FIRST entered the kingdom of God! You must first enter the spiritual kingdom, or you will never know the joy of Christ’s physical kingdom. Join Pastor Phil Hopper as he explains how you can have… A new beginning A new birth Enter into a new kingdom Know true joy Don’t forget to click the “bell” to SUBSCRIBE to get more videos like this to grow your faith! Connect with us on Social Media ↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/ Web: https://livingproof.co/about-us/pastor-phil/ Prepare your heart for Christmas with this Christmas devotional video series: https://livingproof.co/preparing-your-heart-for-christmas-a-christmas-devotional-video-series/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/ Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/