Read Introduction to Revelation

 

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!” And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

“We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.
The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,
And those who fear Your name, small and great,
And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

 

Verse 15 launches the final trumpet. The seventh trumpet makes a milestone in Revelation; it sets up the final events leading to the Second Coming (Rev 10:7). The seven bowl judgments are within the seventh trumpet. 

The seventh trumpet and the six bowls cover chapters 11:15-16:16. The blowing of the seventh trumpet marks the end of the interlude between the sixth and seventh trumpets (11:15-18); there will be another interlude between the sixth and seventh bowl judgments. 

This section of Scripture sets forth Christ’s assumption of His Kingdom.

11:15

Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

A dramatic introduction to the seventh trumpet begins with an exciting announcement. God now openly exercises His judgments on man and His sovereign reign over the world. This trumpet extends to the Second Coming of Christ and announces the elimination of all obstacles to Christ’s reign over the world. This major event is the fulfillment of the purpose of the world, where Christ will glorify God in time on earth; it is Christ’s reign over the world as King Jesus, King of the World.

“The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!”

The kingdoms of the world were always Christ’s by right. Now, He claims them as His own at the end of the Tribulation. The rule of the earth now proceeds from the rule of man to the rule of God. “our Lord” refers to the Father; God the Father and Christ will rule the world. 

This event is no temporary victory. Instead, this victory will go beyond the 1000 reign of Christ into eternity – “forever and ever.” The first 1000 years establish Christ’s authority on earth; then His millennial kingdom will join the eternal kingdom. Man will never again rule; Jesus will reign forever.

“Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:24-26).

11:16

And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God,

At the proclamation of Jesus as the King of the World, the 24 elders fell on their faces in worship. The time has come for God to deal with the nations and take the reign of the world.

11:17

saying: “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
The One who is and who was and who is to come,
Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

John describes God as “Almighty” (Re 1:8; 4:8; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22) and eternal (“is, was, is to come”). God will execute this great eternal power and reign. “Almighty” means that God possesses all power and authority; God is sovereign and supreme over the world. Therefore, they offer thanks to God because He is in control, and now He exercises that control. There will be no more tyranny. Not since the fall of Adam has there been freedom from the tyranny of man and of man’s government. Jesus will straighten out all injustice at that time.

11:18

The nations were angry,

A pagan world loyal to the Antichrist in the Tribulation now shows its ingrained anger toward Christ (Psalm 2:1-5); the nations of the world meet the anger of God with their own anger. They will rise, rebelling against God’s program. While people in heaven rejoice, those on earth seethe in anger. They will express this anger by one final rebellion against God in a world war, the battle of Armageddon.

and Your wrath has come,

God will meet this anger with wrath; mankind will receive their just desert. The day of wrath prophesied in the Old and New Testament has finally come. The sovereign God’s wrath, long predicted in the Bible, has arrived to face an omnipotent God; man’s impotent response will fail. 

And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,

The Greek word for “time” here is an epic, era, or season; it is the season where God will judge the dead. One day, God will cast the dead residing in Hades into the Lake of Fire.

And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, And those who fear Your name, small and great,

God will judge the righteous dead at this time in the Millennial Kingdom. He will reward Israel after their resurrection for faithfulness in the Tribulation (Daniel 12:1-3; Revelation 20:3-4).

And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

God will even things up at the Second Coming of Christ. He will balance the ledger at that time.

11:19

Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.

Another dramatic scene closes the chapter. John looks into a temple in heaven. There, he saw the ark of the covenant. The ark of the covenant was in the Holy of Holies. The ark indicates God’s presence and also represents God’s mercy and faithfulness. We cannot enter God’s presence without Christ’s blood sacrifice. 

The opening of the temple reveals the glory of God. People will see God’s glory; God will manifest Himself fully. The glory of God will explode upon men. Men will see this in His judgments.

And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

Atmospheric disturbances result from the opening of the temple in heaven. All this signals judgment. God has no option but to judge man. John will resume the introduction of the seventh trumpet in chapter sixteen, where he will give the full details.

Chapter 11 concludes the introduction to the seventh trumpet. The seventh trumpet will resume in chapter sixteen. Chapters 12 to 15 will cover Satan’s viewpoint. 

Principle:

We live in the day of the silent sky, but there will come a day when Jesus will assert Himself as sovereign over the world.

Application:

Jesus will come one day to take over the governments of the world. He will take the reign over the earth. He will finally declare Himself to be King of the World. Today, we live in the day of the hushed heaven. God is not presently asserting His rights in the world in the absolute sense. He does not judge man according to His aberrations. There will come a day when that will end.

At present, we are “a stranger here” (Psalm 119:19); our “citizenship” is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). Believers are not in step with the world. We march to a different drumbeat, the drumbeat of heaven. We do not buy into the world’s ideas or values. They live for themselves; we live for God.

Today, people are at bat. There will be a day when that will cease. Man’s Day will come to an end, and God’s Day will begin. One day, God’s forecasting clock will strike suddenly and surely. Only God knows the timing.

God will rule with one universal government over the world. In the Millennium, God assumes complete control over the world. He finally takes what is rightfully His—no wonder the elders fell down in worship. If we recognize God’s sovereign work in the world, it will instill worship in our hearts.