15Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven: “The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
16The twenty-four elders sitting on their thrones before God fell with their faces to the ground and worshiped him. 17And they said, “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, the one who is and who always was, for now you have assumed your great power and have begun to reign. 18The nations were filled with anger, but now the time of your wrath has come. It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants the prophets, as well as your holy people, and all who fear your name, from the least to the greatest. It is time to destroy all who have caused destruction on the earth.”
19Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.
Revelation 11:15-19
Just recently in Deeper Bible 701, I taught the trainee CSU Investigators about the Division of the Text á la 2 Timothy 2:15 which in the Literal Version of the Bible (LITV) reads as follows:
Give diligence to present yourself approved to God, a workman unashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. [LITV]
2 Timothy 2:15
Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth. [NLT]
2 Timothy 2:15
From the verb [ὀρθοτομέω] orthotomeō rightly divide or make a straight cut
I used the example of a mock “Hebrew” sentence without the vowels.
therlyhbrwndgrktxtswrntdvddntwrdbrks
Can you work out what that sentence says?
The same is true of rightly dividing this sentence: godisnowhere.
The atheist would want to read – “god is nowhere”; the theist would want to read “God is now here”. Now we are ready to look at Revelation 11:15-19 through different eyes. Let’s not subject John to clumsy, ill-advised criticism. Rather let’s attempt to gain a glimpse behind the scenes at this text. There are times that we read the words in the text of the Bible but we don’t connect the pieces together. I have passed on to you already in these Gems that many commentators regard Revelation 11 as the most important chapter of the letter or the book! Why? Just go back and read it again. In fact if you need to, read Chapter 11 Seven Times.
It is all about measuring the temple; brothers and sisters, we are the temple of God. God is testing His worshippers to ascertain whether they worship in Spirit and in truth or not. At various points in the past God has set aside worshippers to be martyrs to exemplify what ‘persevering to the end’ looks like. In John’s time, through the history of the church in the Roman Province of Asia under the Roman Empire and throughout history until now. There will come a time when two witnesses will demonstrate the truth of the Gospel once more and all the world will see it at one moment in time. I opt for Elijah and Moses as being those witnesses because they fit the description the best. But ‘who’ is immaterial. The fact that two witnesses demonstrate the reality of the GOSPEL is what is at the heart of this.
I don’t think John has lost the plot at all. I believe he was truthfully relating to us and to his fellow believers in his time, what he saw and heard in visions from heaven. Read the account of the two witnesses again! Yes read it now, once again. Revelation 11:1-14. After you have done that, read the Bridge – Revelation 11:15-19. The narrative is poised at the point of a disbelieving world rejecting the truth of the Gospel and then the incredible statement:
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15
Ever since Jesus Christ made His first appearance into this world, the world became the Kingdom of our LORD and of His Christ! And He will reign forever. Do you understand that when Jesus Christ came the first time, the Kingdom of God had come? Jesus told His disciples at numerous times and demonstrated it with signs and wonders and power as well.
But if I am casting out demons by the power of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you.
Luke 11:20
This amazing statement in Revelation 11:15 is telling us the coming of the Kingdom is at hand, it’s near, it’s not far, it’s here and it’s now, yet its consummation is still to come in its fullness. That much is clear. But it is still foggy to us. Well, cast your mind back to the two witnesses. It will be made even clearer to the WHOLE disbelieving WORLD. But by then it will be too late! Where does John leave us before the Bridge? With a disbelieving world rejecting Christ yet again.
Have you noticed the very significant change in verse 11? The world has now become the Kingdom of our LORD and of His Christ!
This is the only time in Scripture that I am aware of where LORD and Christ are juxtaposed and differentiated. The statement is God-centred, not Christ-centred. It is like God has taken back the reign again. Allow me to take you deeper into Romans than I did in the last Gem. Not only do we have God’s wrath being made known in Paul’s time but we have the Righteousness of God now made known then too.
But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago.
Romans 3:21
Romans 1:18 and 3:21 are perfect foils of each other. God’s wrath is being made known and God’s righteousness has been made known – {both and} in Christ. I like how Gordon Fee describes ‘anger’ and ‘wrath’.
Anger is the character and response of those who oppose God.
Wrath is the divine response to human anger which manifests in Final Judgement.
Are you aware of what the Gospel actually is? It’s GOSPEL. It’s God Offering Sinful People Eternal Life! Why on earth would you wait until the Final Judgement to choose Christ? Just read again what I wrote in Gem 1938. Don’t wait until it’s too late. You can experience the Kingdom of God now in Christ.
Over these last weeks I have had the privilege of reviewing all the What-0n-Earth-is-God-Doing Stories which I told on Radio Rhema from 1999 to 2002. They are God Stories which demonstrate His signs and wonders, compiled from stories gathered from the Mission Organisations around the world. They are inspiring, challenging and absolutely mind-blowing. They are soon going to be available on this website as a subcategory under the <Stories> tab on the top menu line. I will advise you all when they are ready. They exemplify the two witnesses at the beginning of Revelation 11. That is what it’s all about, God confirming His Word with signs and wonders to leave mankind without excuse.
Now notice how God seals the deal. Here now are my two more pieces of detailed analysis.
Small and Great // Great and Small
It is time to judge the dead and reward your servants (including your holy people) both small and great. {least to the greatest}.
The LORD remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron. He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and small.
Psalm 115:12-13
The idea of small and great / great and small appears in numbers of places in Scripture. Amos 6:12 and then numerous times in Revelation, namely here in 11:18, 13:16, 19:5, 19:18 and 20:12. The idea is that all, both great and small, significant and insignificant will be rewarded from among God’s faithful but also judgement will begin with the household of God. We would put ‘great’ before ‘small’, I mean which is more important? But in God’s world ‘small’ comes before ‘great’. But will the faithful be judged in the same way? No, because we wear white robes because we have been given the Righteousness of Christ. There is no other way to be accepted by God as ‘righteous in God’s eyes’, in right relationship with Him other than through Jesus Christ. Oh I know that statement is offensive to many, I am simply telling you the Truth as stated by the One who is the Way to God, The embodiment of the Truth of God and the Only Way you will gain the Life God intended, the Life of the Age to Come.
The Appearance of the Ark in the Open Temple in Heaven
What is the significance of the appearance of the Ark of the Covenant in Heaven and why all the thunder and lightening and other activity? It’s simple! All of Chapter 11 has come to us with signs from heaven and voices heard from heaven. Everything told to us in Chapter 11 is associated with confirmation from Heaven, i.e. from God Himself. Notice that we have a theophany here. There are signs in heaven, namely those normally associated with God’s presence (eg at Sinai) Lightening and thunder. There are also signs on earth, another earthquake and heavy hail.
The appearance of the Ark of the Covenant in the original Temple in Heaven, not the copy on earth, confirms the promises. This represents the first mention of the Ark of Covenant in Revelation. The view or the perspective of heaven determines everything. If God said it and sealed it, it’s as good as done! Consider it history even though it’s confirmation is still in the future. It will be no secret to you if I tell you Revelation 11:15 is in the prophetic perfect tense! The promise of both Covenants, Old and New are confirmed with the appearance of the Ark in the heavenly temple and by the puzzling statement made in the prophetic perfect.
“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15
The view is eschatological based on when God brings ALL THINGS once more under His control. But in reality, all things have never been out of His control since the beginning of time.
Ian
Don’t be deluded into thinking satan and God are in a battle and at the moment God is edging ahead. Nothing could be further from the TRUTH. God and satan are in different worlds separated by quantum leaps.
Ian
Revelation 11 is indeed the most important chapter of the Letter and the hinge point for what is to come.
Ian
Here is a puzzling statement written in the prophetic perfect: The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever!
Jesus said” I am the Way the Truth and the Life, no one can come to the Father except through Me. [There is no truer statement than that! ]
John 14:6