When the 7th angel sounds the last trumpet, Christ returns, the dead are raised, all are judged, and the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ! Hallelujah!
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The Kingdom of the World Becomes the Kingdom of Christ
Revelation 11:14-19
As we have been studying through the Revelation, we have seen several succeeding judgments come upon the inhabitants of earth. Idealists see these seal judgments and trumpet judgments as temporal judgments that occur over and over throughout the history of the church. Preterists see them as God’s judgments that came upon the Jews in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
Today we come to the 7th trumpet, which is the last trumpet. The apostle Paul writes about the last trump in 1 Cor. 15:51-52, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” I believe that the last trump in 1 Corinthians 15 and the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11 refer to the same thing.
In this vision, we are intended to see the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgment.
In 1742, George Frederic Handel composed Messiah, of which the Hallelujah Chorus was just one of 53 movements. Handel composed the 2 ½ hour oratorio, 260 pages, in only 24 days! He slept little, and ate little, and never left his house until it was completed. He reportedly told his servant, “I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself seated on His throne, with His company of Angels.”
The Hallelujah Chorus, is taken from the KJV of Revelation 11:15, which is the theme of our study this morning.
Notice in verse 14, “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” What is John talking about? What are these 3 woes?
Remember that there are 4 trumpet judgments, and they are arranged in a 4 + 3 pattern. There is something distinctive about the last 3 trumpet judgments. Revelation 8:13 says, “Then I looked, and I heard an eagle flying in midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound.” So, in that passage it is clear that the 3 woes are the 3 remaining trumpet blasts – trumpets 5, 6 and 7.
The 5th trumpet is found in Revelation 9:1-12, referring to a demonic invasion. Verse 12 says, “The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.”
The 6th trumpet is found in Revelation 9:13-21, referring to a military invasion. Revelation 11:14 says, “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”
That takes us to the 7th trumpet in Revelation 11:15-19.
In this passage we see Christ doing 6 things:
- Christ returns
- Christ reigns
- Christ resurrects
- Christ rages
- Christ rewards
- Christ restores
Let’s look at each briefly in turn.
1. Christ Returns
Now, the text doesn’t actually say that Christ returns here. So, why have I drawn that conclusion?
- Because it is at this point that the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of Christ. We know that during the church age, Christ reigns over His people by His Spirit, but the devil has been given permission to do much mischief in the world. Right now the kingdom of the world is in the devil’s hands. 1 John 5:19 says, “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” We know that he has been given a measure of authority to rule. He is called “the god of this world” and “the ruler of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air.” But there is coming a day, when Christ returns, that the kingdom of this world will be wrested from Satan and Christ will reign forever and ever over all the creation.
- Another reason I believe we have the return of Christ here is because we see the resurrection and judgment take place here, and elsewhere in Scripture the resurrection and judgment take place at Christ’s second coming.
2. Christ Reigns
Notice verse 15, “Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying…” Now who are the ones speaking here so loudly at the sounding of the 7th trumpet? The text does not tell us explicitly, but I have a pretty good guess as to who it is. We know it is not the 24 Elders, because they respond to these loud voices by prostrating and worshiping. Do you remember anywhere else in the Revelation where this same pattern takes place?
Revelation 4:7-11. When the 4 Living Creatures proclaim God’s holiness and give Him glory and honor and thanks, then the 24 Elders prostrate themselves and worship God.
Revelation 5:14 “And the four living creatures kept saying, “Amen.” And the elders fell down and worshiped.”
Well, that’s exactly what we see taking place again right here. My conclusion is that these loud voices are coming from the 4 Living Creatures, the highest ranking of God’s angels, which are located the closest to His throne in heaven.
So, what is their message? “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”
In the beginning there was only 1 Kingdom – God’s kingdom. Did you realize that there are now two opposing kingdoms in this world which exist simultaneously? There is the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son and the domain of darkness (Col.1:13).
When Jesus appears to the apostle Paul, He gives him a commission, “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God…” There we have it again – the dominion of Satan and the dominion of God. 2 simultaneously existing opposing kingdoms. Satan is the ruler of the kingdom of darkness and Christ is the ruler of the kingdom of light.
All men are subjects of Satan or Christ. Either Satan is ruling you or Christ is ruling you. Jesus said, “He who is not for me is against me.” Most people who are not disciples of Jesus do not realize that Satan is their king, but he surely is! He is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the sons of disobedience (Eph. 2:2).
In the beginning there was only 1 Will – God’s will. All of creation willingly and joyfully did the will of God – all angels and humans, until sin entered the world. However, early on, a rebellion took place, and there are now 2 kingdoms – God’s and Satan’s.
This 7th Trumpet looks forward to the time of Christ’s Return, when all opposing wills and kingdoms and rivals will be forever destroyed and subjected to Him.
Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” The answer to their prayer comes right at this point.
He will reign forever and ever! He will have no rivals or challengers. There will never be an insurrection. He will reign forever and ever!
Notice the exalted response of the 24 Elders (who I take to be a symbolic representation of the true people of God of all the ages): “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” Did you notice a little omission in verse 17? When John writes Revelation 1:4, he describes God as “Him who is and who was and who is to come…” But here John describes God as You “who are and who were.” There is no mention of Him “who is to come.” Why? Because at this point in the Revelation Christ has already come! He has returned and vanquished His archenemy to the lake of fire.
3. Christ Resurrects
Again, there is no explicit mention of a resurrection here, but there is an explicit mention of judgment – “the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth” (11:18).
Now, I submit to you that there can be no Final Judgment, without a prior resurrection. Why? Because only resurrected bodies will dwell in the New Heavens and New Earth, and only resurrected bodies will be cast into Hell. Remember Jesus’ words in Matthew 10:28 “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Jesus says that men’s bodies will be cast into hell, not just their souls. This is stated plainly by Jesus in John 5:28-29, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” Notice that there is a single hour, in which all, the righteous and the evil to a resurrection and judgment.
And we know that both of these events take place at the second coming of Christ, because of what Jesus teaches in Matthew 25:31, “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats…”
So, this is how I see the consummation of all things. The next main event on God’s prophetic calendar is the second coming of Christ, which will take place suddenly and unexpectedly without signs. When He comes, He will rapture the saints, raise all men from the dead, and judge all men. Then He will sentence all men to either Heaven or Hell. A that moment all people’s eternal future begins.
4. Christ Rages
This is plainly brought out in the text in verse 18, “And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came…” What is John referring to? I believe he is referring to the fulfilment of Psalm 2. 2:1-3, “Why are the nations in an uproar and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ‘Let us tear their fetters apart and cast away their cords from us!” However, verse 4 says, “He who sis in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them. Then He will speak to them in His anger and terrify them in His fury…” The Psalmist concludes this psalm in verse 12 with this: “Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, for His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!”
All the way through this Psalm we read of the wrath of the Son. The nations are enraged, trying to break free from God’s rule and reign over them. However the Son will have the last word. His wrath will soon be kindled. If this sounds strange to your ears, the problem is not with the Bible. The problem is with our thinking about Christ. If we only have room for a Jesus, meek and mild, gentle and sweet, we don’t know the Jesus of the Bible! Remember John’s vision in Revelation 6 which speaks of those calling on the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb?
Christ came the first time as a gentle meek Lamb. Like a lamb to the slaughter, so He did not open His mouth. He did not retaliate against the wickedness of His enemies. He willingly gave Himself to die in their place. But He will come the second time as the Lion, who exercises His wrath on evil, and destroys His enemies in Hell, once and for all. My friends, if you have not submitted your life to Jesus Christ, do it today. Do not wait another moment. Surrender your life to Him. Wave the white flag of unconditional surrender, and begin to follow Jesus as your Lord starting this morning!
5. Christ Rewards
Notice verse 18, “and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great…” In the rest of the book of Revelation, God’s people are sometimes called prophets (11:3), saints (5:8), those who fear Your name (19:5). All of God’s people are in view here, the small and the great. All of God’s people will receive some kind of reward – some a great reward, others a smaller reward.
The Final Judgment will include not only the judging of the wicked, but the rewarding of the righteous. In my understanding, all of this takes place at the same time.
Most Futurists believe in several different resurrections and judgments. They believe there will be a resurrection and judgment of the church saints at the rapture, which they believe will be seven years before Christ’s second coming. Then they believe there will be another resurrection and judgment of Old Testament saints and Tribulation saints at the second coming of Christ, seven years later. Then they also believe there will be a third resurrection and judgment of the wicked 1,000 years after Christ has returned.
However, the New Testament affirms there is a single resurrection and judgment of all men at the second coming of Christ (Matthew 25:31-46). Acts 24:15 says “there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked”, not three different resurrections. In fact Jesus taught that there was “an hour” in which ALL who are in the tombs would hear His voice and come forth, the good and the evil. That supports the idea that when Christ returns, all men will be raised from the dead and judged at one time.
And at this Final Judgment, in contrast to the unrighteous who will be cast into Hell, and suffer different degrees of punishment, the righteous will “enter into the Joy of your Lord” and receive different degrees of rewards.
1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men’s hearts; and then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” Notice, this judgment takes place when “the Lord comes.” Notice also, “then each man’s praise will come to him from God.” The righteous will receive praise from Jesus, the unrighteous will receive perdition.
2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” There is going to be a recompense. What is the measure of how we are recompensed? What we have done, good or bad. Our deeds, our actions, will be the measure of our rewards in that day.
Scripture speaks of various crowns the saints will be awarded:
- The crown of life for the man who perseveres under trial, and the man who is faithful until death (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).
- The crown of righteousness to those who love Christ’s appearing (2 Tim. 4:8)
- The crown of glory to faithful pastors (shepherds) who cared for and fed Christ’s flock (1 Pet. 5:4).
Saints, know that how you live your life matters! You will be receiving eternal rewards based on how you live your life now. And those rewards will be given for little things that we think are inconsequential, like giving a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, or a slave doing his work heartily for the Lord and not for men.
This means Mom, that God sees you patiently and gently caring for your children, teaching them the Scriptures, taking them to church, teaching them to follow Christ. He has a reward for your faithful service to your family. This means Daughter, that God sees your tireless service for your aging parent, even though no one else sees it, and He has a reward for you. This means, Husband and Wife, God takes notice of your love and devotion to one another and how you seek to encourage and build up and serve one another daily, and will reward you openly. This means you Employees, God sees your work and that you do it heartily for Him, and not just for the eyes of men. You too, will have a reward.
6. Christ Restores
Where do I get the idea in this passage that Christ restores? I get it from verse 19, “And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.”
Why does John see a vision of the ark of the covenant here? In the Old Testament, what did the ark represent? It represented God’s presence among His people. Yet the ark was off limits. You could not touch it without dying. It was cloistered off and out of sight behind a thick veil where no one could see it. God was present but distant. The impression we get is “I am with you, but don’t get near Me.”
However, this vision is altogether different! In this vision we see right into the temple and see the ark of the covenant. Nothing is hidden or veiled. Why the difference? Because now the lid of this ark, the mercy seat, has been sprinkled with the blood of Christ. Atonement has been made for sins. This vision informs us that the Presence of God at the second coming of Christ is perfect, free, and unhindered. Revelation 21:3 says, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them.” Throughout eternity, we will enjoy intimate, real, and unhindered fellowship with the Living God. We will have access to His immediate presence. Where was the ark in this vision? In heaven. That’s where our fellowship with God will take place.
I say that Christ Restores, because this vision tells us that Christ is going to restore to man what was lost in the Fall. Remember that in the beginning, before sin entered the world, Adam and Even enjoyed unhindered communion with God. It was only after they sinned, that they had shame and hid themselves from God.
In Genesis we see Paradise Lost. In Revelation we see Paradise Restored. In Genesis we see sin come into the world. In Revelation we see sin banished forever from God’s universe. In Genesis we see sinners banished from the Garden of Eden. In Revelation we see sinners cleansed and restored to God’s eternal Garden.
Conclusion
My friend, if you have not surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, you need to do that now, today. That is the greatest application of this message I can make to you. Repent. Turn from your sin. Confess and forsake your sin, and put all your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior, Lord and Treasure.
If you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ, I can’t think of a better way to respond to the truths of this passage than to worship Him, and long for His appearing. And we are going to do that together this morning, by singing the Hallelujah Chorus, written by George Handel. If you find yourself unable to sing it, just listen, and catch the vision of the glory of Christ, when He comes and the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever!
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