Revelation 11:15-19 – The seventh trumpet and the triumphant song

Instead of another plague, loud voices were heard declaring the eternal and sovereign reign of God and His Christ at the sound of the seventh trumpet. And when that declaration was made, the 24 elders on their thrones fell face down and worshiped God. They praised God for taking His great power and began to reign. They also declared that it’s time to reward His servants and also to pour out His wrath upon the destroyers of the earth. A close reflection tells us that these six verses summarize all that is yet to take place. They provide for us the themes of the chapters to follow. There is an absolute certainty that these events will definitely happen.

The seals, the trumpets, and all that would be described in chapters 12-14 climaxing in the seven bowls and all are not sequential happenings. They are actually one common recurring reality look from different angles. The reality is that through all the world’s dreadful upheavals and woes, God through Jesus is establishing a people who will follow the Lamb to bear witness to the Kingdom of God through their own sufferings. And through them the world will be brought to repentance and faith so that ultimately God will be King over all.

Revelation is all about the Kingdom of God, which is a greatly misunderstood theme. Many have mistakenly think that the Kingdom of God is the place we go to after death. Many have failed to realize that God is the Creator of the world and the universe. His whole purpose is to made the whole world His once again. He intends to put the world back to its original position. He wants to make it like the place before the fall, which sin and man’s rebelliousness had made it so tragically off track. The book of Revelation is about God confronting the powers of the world with the news that He is now in-charge. And He is ruling it in the way the Messiah, the Lamb has established it. This also brings about the fulfilment narrated by Psalm 2 where “the Son” is promised the Kingdom of the nation.  

The tenses used in theses verses give us the idea that God has assumed His reign. This has become a reality. The church has faithfully witnessed and through her martyrs has shown to the world that God is God and that Jesus is Lord and King. The world has responded by glorifying the God of heaven. With that, the destroyers of the earth, which is death, will be dealt with finally.  

Like Revelation 4:5 and Revelation 8:5, the thunders and lightning and so on form the transition. Just as the throne room in heaven was seen in the temple of heaven, now the Ark of His Covenant also appears. This is by way of saying that God has fulfilled all His covenant. This is a reminder that what God has said, He will certainly do. Adorned with power, the King is reigning! Is He reigning over your life today?