Revelation 11:15-19

The Seventh Trumpet

15The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said:
"The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,
and he will reign for ever and ever." 16And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying:
"We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
the One who is and who was,
because you have taken your great power
and have begun to reign.
18The nations were angry; and your wrath has come.
The time has come for judging the dead,
and for rewarding your servants the prophets
and your saints and those who reverence your name,
both small and great—
and for destroying those who destroy the earth."
19Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm.



11:15 - The destruction of apostate Israel has placed the Jews and Gentiles on equal footing when it comes to the Covenant. God has now created a new nation and a new Temple. Thus, John says that the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. This consummates Jesus’ words recorded in Matthew: "the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit" (Matt. 21:43). Later, Jesus told His disciples about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky" (Matt. 24:30). The wording in the NIV demonstrates the bias of the futurist view. The actual wording should say "at that time will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven." It was the destruction of and judgment upon Jerusalem that would be the sign that Christ was reigning in heaven. It was not that a sign would appear in the heavens, the judgment of Jerusalem was the sign. The destruction that befell Jerusalem signaled the full beginning of a new, world-wide kingdom, marking the final separation between the Christian Church and Judaism.

Daniel’s "fifth kingdom" prophesied in Dan. 2 is realized as the voices in heaven shout the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. In other words, the world is no longer to be ruled by the Kingdom of Satan, or the kingdoms of men, but the Kingdom of Christ forever.

11:16-18 - The twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones, signifying that they are ruling with Christ, now fall on their faces and worshiped God. The word for give thanks is eucharisteo, which is the same word used quite often to indicate the communion or Lord’s Supper. John has shown us that the pattern of God’s redemptive action in history is the same as that acted out on every Lord’s Day: The Church, having died and resurrected in Christ (v. 7-11), ascends amid judgments to heaven at the divine command (v. 12-14). Surrounded by the heavenly host singing praises (v. 15), the Elders fall down before God’s majesty, proclaiming we give thanks (eucharistoumen).

They continue praising him because, as they say, you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. Christ had poured out judgment on Israel by allowing Rome to attack them. As it says, the nations were angry, and your wrath has come upon apostate Israel. Jerusalem would now feel the brunt of both the angry nations and the wrath of God. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints an those who reverence your name. God’s prophets would be vindicated and rewarded in the coming judgment. This does not refer to the final judgment on the last day, but the historical vindication of the martyred saints at the hands of a rebellious Israel. The song closes with the realization that Christ has served the purpose of destroying those who destroy the land. Israel had defiled the land, and so, had to be purged (see Lev. 18:24-30).

11:19 - The significance of the fall of Israel meant that God’s temple in heaven was opened. The earthly Temple, which was just a shadow anyway, is gone, and now only the true Temple remains. God’s Temple has been shown to be His Church, and now within that Temple is the ark of his covenant. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments and was "hidden" in the sanctuary, where no one was allowed access. In the New Covenant, all believers are saints, and saints are someone who has access to the sanctuary. In the New Covenant, the mystery has been opened through Christ. With the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the revelation is complete and definitive. What was a mystery has now been revealed. Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, "Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him" (Romans 16:25-26). For this reason, all the signs that had been associated with the glory cloud in the Old Covenant are now spoken of in relation to the Church including flashes of lightning and an earthquake. Through the Church, the door to heaven and "the age to come" has opened up to us. The end of old Israel was not the beginning of the end, but the sign that Christ’s worldwide Kingdom has begun and that we could begin to live in the "age to come" now.