Hallelujah, We’re Going Home
“This is the story of the Great Controversy, this is the story we read. It’s in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, this is the Story!”
Those are the opening words of a moving musical overview of our lives. The 13 songs in this cantata cover the creation of mankind, the fall of Adam and Eve, and the struggle between Good and Evil. These songs tell of Jesus' birth and earthly ministry, death and resurrection, the mission of the disciples, and also our dark days of challenge as our world seems to be coming to an end.
After a stirring trumpet fanfare, the final song begins with these exciting and celebratory words: “Then I look up and see, the One Who gave His life to me, coming to take me to my home over there. Hallelujah, we’re going home, no more on this earth will we ever roam, we’re going to live up in Heaven, gonna live with Jesus there!”
After a life-changing week of prayer at Dallas Junior Academy in the early 1970s, a teenager named Steve Borth composed this powerful musical presentation of the Great Controversy between Christ and Satan. For several years, along with seven other young adults, I had the privilege of presenting this cantata to more than 500 audiences across the country. Every night we saw God's Spirit move people through these musical messages. They were drawn to experience this testimony of how God has provided, for all who believe, the ultimate fulfillment of His promise to always be with us, until we can ultimately be with Him.
Through the many times that I sang these powerful songs, I came to understand that the Great Controversy is really not just about a book, or even a musical cantata. It is about the spiritual journey of each individual and the struggle between good and evil.
The Great Controversy began as a war in Heaven, and we understand that it is actually about two completely opposite characters, Jesus Christ and Satan. On one side is Jesus, our creator and redeemer, who is the ultimate expression of unconditional love. On the other side is Satan, that great deceiver known as the Devil, who is the greatest example of selfishness to ever exist.
As we look around our world today, it is clear that this war is raging on every front. Whether it be the blood that is being spilled in physical battles or the toll that the weight of our personal struggle is taking on our physical, spiritual, emotional or relational health. The good news is that this war has already been won! It happened that day on the Cross of Calvary when unselfish love voluntarily laid down His life as the ultimate sacrifice to purchase our freedom from the ravages of the one “roams around looking to devour us.”
The continuing relevance of this great conflict is that each of us is on one side or the other, we get to choose. And as we consider the gravity of such a decision, may we be inspired anew to align our lives with the One who not only said ‘It is finished’ but will one day soon say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you.” Because of Jesus’ victory in this battle, we can respond, “Hallelujah, we’re going Home!” May that day come very soon, indeed!
By Phil Robertson
Executive Secretary/Treasurer
