We now
come to the end of the 11th chapter. Allow me to give you a brief synopsis
of what we have said so far:
1. The book of
Revelation is primary the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ (1:1) , “who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father…” (1:5,6). This book reveals future things – “the
things that must soon take place” (1:1; 4:1). The destinies of all
peoples, nations, tribes and their kings
are in view here [1].
There is no god for the Muslims or god
for the Hindu’s or god for the Christians . There is only One
God an Creator, and He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom He
made all things (John 1:3). Jesus
Christ is the Son of God who gave Himself for
the world , that is , He gave Himself for all His sheep
among the tribes , nations , tongues of
the world. He has set a time when He will return from where He is now seated in the heavenlies, to judge all
of mankind with respect to the
revelation that is given us in this Bible. He will then divide mankind into two kinds of people, sheep and goats, at the
final judgment (Matt 25:31-46). Mankind will face two destinies : eternal heaven or eternal hell
2. In Chapter 11
we are given a general overview of the history of the world :
(i)
The place of the church in history : When the temple was measured
in 11:1-2, a distinction was made between the temple
of God and the outer court and
the holy city. We observed from this that there is always a
nominal church which is
distinct from the true church.
(ii)
From that true church
2 witnesses arise. From an exposition of 11:4
we saw that these two witnesses are the true church and true ministers of the gospel. They testify
powerfully (in word and deed) against
the nominal church and the world. Their words
become a fire, effectively silencing
the arguments of their enemy .
They will prophesy (speak with authority from God) until the appointed time .
(iii)
Then we observe the
rise of the anti-Christ , the beast which comes out of the abyss. The anti-Christ exists in the whole age, but
towards the end of time and before the
coming of Christ he is allowed to kill
these two witnesses, so that it seems
that the true church and her true ministers are now extinct.
(iv)
But lastly, we find
that the witnesses do not remain
dead. We note, that the days of
trial for the true church are
shortened ( 11:11-cf Matt. 24:22). Like their Lord Jesus, they are
raised from the dead and taken up to heaven (11: 12) before the 7th
trumpet of the final judgment is thrown is blown ! This trumpet corresponds with 1
Thessalonians 4:16-18 . This, in a
nutshell is the biblical view of the history and the future of the world. You are
privileged to know the outcome!
THE SEVENTH TRUMPET ( 11:15)
Do you remember what we
had previously said about the
significance of the number seven ? It is the number of divine perfection
and of accomplishment . When the 7th seal is opened and the 7th trumpet is sounded and when the 7th bowl of God’s wrath is
emptied out upon the earth , the end has
come in a two fold sense : (i) God’s
people will have been delivered and taken to heaven to be with their
Lord forevermore, and (ii) God’s
enemies will be judged and separated
from Him forevermore. And now as the 7th
trumpet is blown (or, as the third
woe is announced) we need to make
some important observations :
1. Remember that
the blowing of the 7th
trumpet occurs within the context of the 11th chapter. This chapter
does not provide a lot of details. Rather
it paints a picture in broad strokes with respect to the history of the
church, as she both triumphs as the church militant against her enemy , the anti-Christ. There are no explicit details given here of the ‘grim and
gory’ details that we would associate with the end of history, when Jesus comes to judge. Only one thing , the final fact is clearly stated
: “The
kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and
he shall reign forever and ever.”
2. Chapter 12 will provide us with more
details as things get more intense . Remember again
that the pattern of the book of Revelation is cyclical
– indicated by the visions of the 7 seals, the 7 trumpets and the 7 bowls. The
7th seal, the 7th
trumpet and the 7th bowl always indicate
the end of a cycle - now from this angle and now from that angle. As we
consider the 12th chapter we shall see that the church , which has just gone to heaven with
her Lord ( 11:12) will
be involved in an epic struggle with the great dragon (Satan) .
3. We take note then at this point of the
twofold outcome - the
triumph of God’s kingdom and the judgment of all evil :
The kingdom of God is fully
established : With the 7th trumpet
the kingdoms of this world will have become
the kingdoms of our God and King (v.15).
Christ’s first advent inaugurated
the kingdom of God . By His miraculous signs and wonders, by the casting out of demons, and, after the cross, by rising from the dead, the
Lord Jesus had showed us that someone
greater than the devil was here. The inauguration however is only the
promise of the reign. Just as Saul was reigning as an evil king for quite a
while after God had rejected him[2],
whilst God had already anointed David
as King, so Satan also rules as prince of the earth whilst
God has already installed
Christ as His holy king[3]. This is where we are at this point in time. We are currently
living under the rule of an evil prince of darkness. We see this in our world . Our world is ruled essentially by self -centered rulers . Rarely do you hear of a Christian
President of a country who truly speaks
as a biblical man . The leaders of the world are all pragmatists , and politically
correct , lest they lose their positions !
However , the
Son of David , the Christ is already the
anointed King of God and He is on His
way , and when He comes at His second advent the kingdom of God will be fully realized
. We are
now living in the time of
the inaugurated kingdom in which the battle between light and
darkness is often very heavy . But we know that when Christ appears all these struggles will instantly end when
Satan will be thrown into the fiery lake ( Rev. 20:10) !
The joy of the redeemed will be
seen and heard : Firstly, there are
the “loud voices in heaven” which
affirm the triumph of God’s kingdom of those that are now
gathered in heaven , and secondly we find in v.16 24
elders (see also Revelation 4:4!
) who fall on their faces, worshipping God-. All this is in response to the great rescue
of the church by her Lord! The 24 elders are symbolical representatives - 12 of
the OT and 12 of the NT church, and together they are the representatives of the church of all
ages - the whole church of all history.
In verses 17 & 18 we find the
chorus of the elders celebrating the accomplishment of the 7th trumpet : “ We
give thanks to you , Lord God Almighty , who is and who was, for you have taken
your great power and begun to reign . The nations raged [4]but
your wrath came, and the time for the
dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. “
The church is now freed
from harassment ! The first response is that the elders come down from their 24 thrones and fall on their faces to worship [5]
God . Remember that from their perspective (and the perspective of the whole creation, and
including the angels) they and we are not omniscient . Each step in
the revelatory process is watched with bated breath. Paul says in Rom. 8:19, “ the
creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.” And so , when this happens , there is loud jubilation and worship in heaven.
Dear friends , this is the church’s future , and when this happens it shall surpass our boldest expectations. That is why John
says in 1 John 3:2: “Now we are the children of God , and
what we will be has not yet appeared ;
but we know that when He appears we
shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is .” And the apostle Paul says in 1
Cor. 13: 12 : “Now we are seeing but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face”. Now we worship by faith. Then we shall worship when
we see the completion of the facts - by
sight !
And so we find
that God’s people rewarded. In v. 18 the
24 elders celebrate the fact that:
·
The angry ,
mocking nations will be silenced when God’s wrath is finally displayed
·
The dead will be judged
·
God’s servants –
His prophets , saints , those who fear
His Name will be rewarded .
·
The destroyers of
the earth will be destroyed .
Finally , the
temple in heaven containing
the ark of the covenant ( the law) will testify against humanity ( v.19) : The
revelation of the temple with the ark of
the covenant in heaven must not be understood as a literal temple ,
for there will ultimately be no temple
in the city, for its temple is
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb (Rev. 21:22). This is a replica of the temple of God in Jerusalem which
was given to Moses by God from heaven !
The temple became the dwelling
place of God on earth , and it and its
furniture and its priests
symbolized the holiness of God
.
Well, that symbol holiness now testifies against the world
which constantly has mocked and
desecrated that temple
which was made according to a divine pattern. In Rev 14:17 we shall
see the angel of judgment coming
out of that , with a sharp sickle . Out
of that temple shall come the 7
angels that carry the
7 bowls of wrath , ready to pour
them on the earth (Ch.15:5ff- 16: 1) .
The point is that humanity
has sinned greatly against the revealed
truth of God , as it was represented on earth by the temple
, and that is why the
flashes of lightning, rumblings ,
peals of thunder, an earthquake and heavy hail follow . These are all
symbols of divine judgment!
And so we see that the 7th and final
trumpet is full of comfort to believers.
It is the end of the fight for you. You will enter into your promised
eternal rest [6]
in heaven.
Yet, at the same time the 7th trumpet
is a trumpet of terror filled
with destruction and judgment to those who have mocked and opposed the kingdom of God .
All this begs the question
once again : Are you sure that you have received mercy and pardon from God . Can you say , as
you come to this communion table , “To
Him who loves me and has freed me from
my sins by His blood… be glory and dominion
forever and ever . Amen ! (Rev. 1:5,6)
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