It Is Finished
Gloria Gaither Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On that line stands an old rugged cross
On that cross, a battle is raging
To gain a man's soul or it's loss
On one side, march the forces of evil
All the demons, all the devils of hell
On the other, the angels of glory
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict
And the sun refuses to shine
For there hangs God's son, in the balance
And then through the darkness he cries
It is finished, the battle is over
It is finished, there'll be no more war
It is finished, the end of the conflict
It is finished and Jesus is Lord
Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging
Not all prisoners of war had come home
These were battlefields of my own making
I didn't know that the war had been won
Oh, but then I heard the king of the ages
Had fought all the battles for me
And that victory was mine for the claiming
And now praise his name, I am free
The lyrics of Gloria Gaither’s song “It Is Finished” depict a battle between good and evil that has been ongoing since the beginning of time, culminating in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross at Golgotha. The song begins by drawing a line through history, symbolizing the divide between those who side with the forces of evil and those who ally themselves with the angels of glory. The battle is for the soul of humanity, with the outcome determining whether man will be lost or saved.
The imagery in the song is powerful, with the earth shaking and the sun refusing to shine as God’s son hangs on the cross. Through the darkness, we hear Christ cry out, “It is finished,” signaling the end of the conflict. The finality of those words resonates with the listener, bringing to mind the enormity of what has been accomplished. Christ’s victory over sin and death means that there will be no more war, that the conflict is truly over.
Yet, as the song continues, we are reminded that the battle is not always over in our hearts. Even after Christ’s victory, we can find ourselves fighting a war we assume is ongoing. We create battles of our own making, not realizing that the victory has already been won. But then we hear the king of the ages, who has fought all the battles for us, and we know that we are free.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a line that is drawn through the ages
The course of history can be divided into two parts
On that line stands an old rugged cross
The cross is a symbol of the dividing line between good and evil
On that cross, a battle is raging
The cross is the site of a spiritual conflict between good and evil
To gain a man's soul or it's loss
The outcome of the battle determines the eternal destiny of human souls
On one side, march the forces of evil
The powers of darkness fight for the souls of humankind
All the demons, all the devils of hell
The spiritual forces of evil are all working together
On the other, the angels of glory
The forces of light are battling against the forces of darkness to win human souls for heaven
And they meet on Golgotha's hill
Golgotha is the site of the ultimate battle between good and evil
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict
The spiritual battle is so intense it can shake the earth
And the sun refuses to shine
The darkness of evil has overshadowed creation
For there hangs God's son, in the balance
Jesus' crucifixion and death are the focal point of the battle
And then through the darkness he cries
Jesus makes a declaration of victory over evil
It is finished, the battle is over
Jesus has defeated evil and won the ultimate victory
It is finished, there'll be no more war
The struggle between good and evil has come to an end
It is finished, the end of the conflict
The battle for human souls has ended
It is finished and Jesus is Lord
Jesus has been affirmed as the Lord of all creation
Yet in my heart, the battle was still raging
The human struggle for faith and salvation continues even after the victory of Jesus
Not all prisoners of war had come home
Not all who need salvation have found it
These were battlefields of my own making
People struggle to overcome personal challenges in their spiritual journey
I didn't know that the war had been won
Some people are unaware of Jesus' victory over evil
Oh, but then I heard the king of the ages
Through faith, people come to learn about who Jesus is
Had fought all the battles for me
Jesus has won the spiritual victory for all humanity
And that victory was mine for the claiming
Through belief and faith, people can claim the victory over evil
And now praise his name, I am free
Through faith and belief in Jesus, people can be freed from the bondage of sin and death
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: Gloria Gaither, William J. Gaither
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jerrydalley3756
It Is Finished The Story Behind the Song by Gloria Gaither
Bill and I love to hear great orators as much as we love great literature. It has been our privilege to hear, in person or through the media, many great speakers. We’ll never forget the milestone moment in our nation’s history, for example, when Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the now famous “I Have a Dream” speech.
To teach English students the principle of communication, we used the eulogy delivered by Senator Mike Mansfield, of Montana, after Kennedy was assassinated, “And she took a ring and placed it on his finger. . . .”
And who could forget ten thousand voices at the Praise Gathering for Believers in Indianapolis affirming in one great voice the truth Tony Campolo had drilled into our very souls: “It’s Friday . . . but Sunday’s coming!”
Because we had learned to recognize and appreciate such moments, Bill and I knew that it was a timeless honor to sing at the same service in which nationally known radio orator B. R. Lakin was to deliver a sermon on Jesus’ last words from the cross: “It is finished!”
It was hard to forget the way Dr. Lakin ended his message.
And the drops of blood from His precious hands seeped into the sand below the old rugged cross and said to the sand, “It is finished.” The grains of sand whispered their message to the blades of grass, “It is finished!” A little bird swooped down and plucked a blade of grass and flew to the top of the pine tree and carried the message to the uppermost branch, “It is finished!” The pine standing like a sentinel raised its branches to the sky and repeated to the forests around and the clouds above, “It is finished!” The heavens echoed the wondrous liberating news, “It is finished!” until the winds blew across the sea and the waves lapping on the shore repeated the message to the farthest oceans, “It is finished!”
Bill and I were overwhelmed with the beauty and grandeur of this picture. Afterward, I wasn’t surprised that Bill said, “We’ve got to write a song about that, honey. ‘It Is Finished’—what a great title!”
Even then my mind was exploding, stretching, asking, searching. What was finished? I couldn’t escape the question. How could I ever hope to comprehend the scope of redemption and capture it in a song?
For a year I struggled. Bill kept saying, “Honey, we need to write that song.”
I said, “Yes, we must. But I’m not ready. I can’t distill this truth into four verses and a chorus. Let me live with it a while longer.”
I read and reread the crucifixion story. Insight by insight I made the truths my own. The drink from the Messiah’s cup on the Passover night in the Upper Room; the prayer Jesus prayed for His friends there and for us here. The betrayal by Judas, the denial by Peter. The inquisition, trial, and execution. The amazing last words of Jesus.
I considered the implications of the troubling of the forces of nature: the earthquakes, the unnatural darkness, the strange storm. And I worked to comprehend how these chaotic eruptions in the natural realm were used to issue new proclamations in the spiritual realm: a torn barrier to the Holy of Holies, an opening of access to the mercy seat and the awesome presence of God, a redefining of the terms royalty, priesthood, sacrifice, intermediary.
At that time our nation was involved in the long and seemingly pointless Vietnam War. When “the conflict” was finally ended, a generation of America’s young had been riddled. This was the only war I had known well. I was born after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and I barely remembered the Korean War. Vietnam was my generation’s war—the first war to pull the nation apart rather than unite it. It left both those who served in it and those who refused to serve confused and bewildered and at odds with one another. It was an ambiguous war.
I well remember the night Bill and I sat and wept in our living room as we watched on television the return home of prisoners of war from Vietnam. Some fell to the ground and kissed American soil. Others threw themselves into the arms of waiting parents, wives, and sweethearts who had lived in the fear that these soldiers would never come back. Some hugged their two-, three-, and four-year-old children whom they had never seen. The relief on the faces—the tears, the joy, the hope, the pain—was almost too much to bear.
About that same time Bill and I picked up a major news magazine that carried the story of another American soldier. This man had wandered out of the forest on some secluded island in the South Pacific. He was carrying a rusty weapon and was dressed in what remained of a tattered American uniform. He was suspicious and frightened as authorities took him into custody. The article explained that this was a World War II soldier who had been lost from his company and left behind. No one had ever told him that the Allies had won the war, that he was free to go home, that victory had been declared long ago. All those years he had remained at war in his mind, fighting a battle that had already been won.
The song Bill wanted us to write was falling into place for me.
War—the cross of Jesus was about war, a war of cosmic proportions, the war of the ages. This was a war with a clear objective: freedom for every soul since Eden. It was a war fought on earth where mankind could see it, and a war fought in the unseen world, from the heavens to the very pit of hell. What was finished? I’d asked the question for a year. Bill had the music; now the words would come.
I saw the crack in the earth—caused by the quake that shook Golgotha—as a cosmic split in the universe, a line that divided all history and all time into bc and ad. I began to write:
There’s a line that’s been drawn through the ages;
On that line stands an old rugged cross.
On that cross a battle is raging
For the gain of man’s soul or its loss.
The sides and powers of the conflict were clearly defined. If there ever was a holy war, a righteous cause, this was it. And each of us had major stakes in this war’s outcome.
On one side march the forces of evil,
All the demons and devils of hell;
On the other the angels of glory,
And they meet on Golgotha’s hill.
There were disturbances of nature—much more than a simple storm or earthquake. This earthquake shook the very foundations of the firmament and reverberated into eternity.
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict;
The sun refuses to shine,
For there hangs God’s Son in the balance,
And then through the darkness He cries—
It is finished!The battle is over.
It is finished!There’ll be no more war.
It is finished!The end of the conflict.
It is finished!And Jesus is Lord.
A defeated enemy is impotent. Every battle-weary soldier must be told: the war is over!
I thought of that poor, bedraggled man peering suspiciously out from the dark forest, afraid to come out into the sunlight, guarding his little island. I saw myself, and I suddenly realized that this is a picture of us all. Because of Jesus, Satan has no power over us unless he can keep us from hearing the news of the victory, unless he can convince us that the war has never been won.
Of all the declarations of freedom—the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights—none has been written so eloquently or at such great cost in bloodshed as the one spoken in three words from an old rugged cross: It is finished! Every isolated soldier of life’s battle must hear it.
Yet in my heart the battle was raging;
Not all prisoners of war have come home.
These were battlefields of my own making;
I didn’t know that the war had been won.
Then I heard that the King of the Ages
Had fought all my battles for me.
And the victory was mine for the claiming,
And now, praise His name, I am free!
It is finished!
Bill sat down at the piano, played his tune, and sang through the words on the yellow tablet in front of him. Tears ran down our faces as we embraced anew the truth that had set us free. We were coming to know at a sweeter, deeper level what was meant by the words the blade of grass whispered to the bird that day on Golgotha: It is finished!
@esdrasrodrigues2808
There's a line that is drawn thru the ages
On that line stands an old rugged cross
On that cross a battle is raging
To gain a mans soul or it's loss
On one side march the forces of evil
All the demons all the devils of hell
On the other the angels of glory
And they meet on Golgotha's hill
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict
And the sun refuses to shine
For there hangs God's son in the balance
And then thru the darkness He cries
Chorus
It is finished, the battle is over
It is finished, there'll be no more war
It is finished, the end of the conflict
It is finished and Jesus is Lord
Yet in my heart the battle was still raging
Not all prisoners of war had come home
These were battlefields of my own making
I didn't know that the war had been won
Oh but then I heard the king of the ages
Had fought all the battles for me
And that victory was mine for the claiming
And now praise His Name I am free
@ronmangrum7073
As a U S Marine I can tell you some battles are won here on earth. But Jesus Christ won the most important war of all! The battle over death, hell, and the grave! Jesus Christ/God won them all! Praise His Holy Name! Amen
@omelelliston2746
God bless you Ron Mangrum..Thanks for your daily Sacrifices,Keeping us Safe ..I just love this Group,especially David Phelps..He comes with such Anointing on his life..Jehovah God is Awesome,..He pulled me back from the Wicked Jaws of death recently..l Have a lot to be thankful for..Be Safe..Stay Bless😇
@kimberlyhardy4859
Thank you for your service to our country 🇺🇸🇺🇸! May God continue to bless you in Jesus Name!
@jamesverner2812
@@kimberlyhardy4859 Yes, thank you, Ron--from an ex-Section Commander with the Glorious Glosters, UK. We both know Jesus, and all of us love the Gaither's Homecomings!!
@rosemarylutcavage9629
Thank you for your service Ron.
GLORY TO GOD...THANK YOU JESUS—HALLELUJAH- THE VICTORY HAS ALREADY BEEN WON!!!! PRAISE GOD🩸
@jamesverner2812
@@rosemarylutcavage9629 I like that Rosemary
@aimanisahac
WORLD CLASS DAVID PHELPS
@denisevandermey7626
Bill, I just wanted to tell you something very special. I have been fighting Bipolar Disorder for 33 years. I know Jesus as my Lord and Savior, and have trusted Him all my life. I have been praying for the Lord's total healing from that for me. In 2005, I started receiving my healing. You see, my husband and I went to The Holy Land Experience, while in there. The Fisher's Of Men were putting on a concert. At the last, they wrapped up the concert with :"It Is Finished." I felt someone touch me, and I felt a warm flow go from the top of my head all the way through my body. I raised my hands to heaven. I said:"Praise God I am Free!" I am still on medicine, but I KNOW because of what Jesus did for me....that healing is STILL GOING ON! He said:"If I ask ANYTHING in HIS NAME, HE WILL DO IT!" Amen?
@jlfcpa
Denise Vandermey My son and I have it too. His much worse. I believe it is oppression from the evil one. But I read that Spurgeon and many other giants of the faith battled life long depression. Maybe to some of us it is our thorn in the flesh? Jesus didn't want to drink that cup and God denied His request, so we praise Him for each minute that we can praise Him.
@glenrucker2872
Praise the Lord