The SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS THE BEGINNING OF THE END

REVELATION 11:15-19

THE SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS

THE BEGINNING OF THE END

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We return now to the linear action of the judgments of the Great Tribulation. The interlude between the 6th and 7th Trumpets is complete and we have arrived at what is unquestionably the most epic and dramatic event in all of end-time world history ... namely, the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. In chapter 10, the mighty angel said, in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel ... the mystery of God (referring to who the Lord Jesus Christ really is) would be finished, as he has declared to his servants, the prophets. The prophet, Isaiah, put it this way,

The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. Isaiah 25:6-7

All of Heaven will have been holding its breath for the momentous event of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet ... because, when the 7th angel blows his trumpet, its blast is the sound of ultimate victory! It signals that the time has come for Christ Jesus to set all things straight in Heaven and Earth, culminating in the irrefutable revelation of who he truly is for all time. That's why, when the Seventh Trumpet was blown, all Heaven went wild!

Immediately upon the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet, the seven Bowl judgments will be poured out upon the earth in rapid, staccato procession, like the grand finale of a giant fireworks display. Then, Christ Jesus will descend back to earth ... change the topography of the Mount of Olives ... enter the temple at Jerusalem ... and begin his millennial (1000-year) reign on earth. So, timewise, the Seventh (and final) Trumpet will be blown at the very end of the 7 year Great Tribulation, setting in motion a whole new era on planet earth.

Now, it is also very important to recognise that the days of the Seventh Trumpet encompass a considerable segment of time. Many events of earth's future history fall under the days of the voice of the seventh angel (10:7). To be clear, let’s make a list of list of them.

The days of the Seventh Trumpet will include...

…the seven Bowl Judgments

…the complete destruction of Antichrist’s capitol city, economic, political, and religious system

…the annihilation of Antichrist's vast armies at the battle of Armageddon

…the return of Christ Jesus to earth (technically known as his Second Coming)

…the disposing of Antichrist and his False Prophet in the Lake of Fire

…the resurrection of Israel and their restoration to their promised land

…the Judgment of the Nations (to determin which ones will and which will not be in the Millennial kingdom)

…the 1000-year reign of Christ on Earth

…the final battle of Gog and Magog at the close of the Millennium

…the permanent consignment of Satan to the Lake of Fire

…the resurrection and judgment of every wicked person of all time before God on his Great White Throne

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THE SEVENTH TRUMPET SOUNDS

Rev. 11:15-19

Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The [NU changes: kingdoms to kingdom] of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying: ‘We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, The One who is and who was [NU omits: and who is to come] Because you have taken your great power and reigned.’ The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

11:15

When the seventh angel blew his trumpet, pandemonium broke out in Heaven. This was the trumpet everyone had been waiting for. From this time on, all of God’s created intelligences would be able to see the end. The cries of God’s saints for intervention going back to the beginning of time are now be answered. Here are a couple of examples from the Psalms:

Arise, O LORD, in thine anger, lift up thyself because of the rage of mine enemies: and awake for me to the judgment that thou hast commanded. Psalm 7:6

Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. Psalm 9:19

So, when the seventh angel blew his trumpet, John heard great jubilation in Heaven along with a cacophony of voices ... the like of which, I suspect, had never before been heard there. The air became filled with cries of, The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. The NASV correctly translates the word kingdom here in the singular. In the Greek, both of these words, kingdom and is become, are in the singular. Dr. McGee points out that you and I view this world as divided into little territories of nations with new ones being formed and old ones being deleted or changed from time to time. So, he says, we draw and redraw our little lines on our maps to distinguish their boundaries. But God sees the world as it truly is … just one dark kingdom … ruled over by the Prince of Darkness. In Matthew 4:8-9 we read that Satan took Jesus up on a high mountain and offered him all the kingdoms of the world ... provided Jesus would fall down and worship him. It was a legitimate offer. They were Satan's to give. If it were not so, it would not have been a temptation. Second Corinthians 4:4 refers to Satan as the god of this world. Sin and selfishness, sickness, and savagery, death, and spiritual darkness, blindness, and rebellion, war, and graveyards ... these are all hallmarks of the god of this world’s dark kingdom. McGee further comments, God sees Satan’s slaves plodding like zombies to fill up the cemeteries. The sounding of the Seventh Trumpet is the beginning of the end to all of this! From that precise point in time on, Satan's kingdom will be systematically dismantled by the King of kings and Lord of lords. Hallelu-Jah, indeed!

11:16-18

The twenty-four elders entered this jubilation as well. John heard them say, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. These words of praise by the leaders of the Church are a key to defining the wide range of time that the days of the Seventh Trumpet encompasses. Let’s break their declaration down.

They proclaimed...

…We give you thanks … because you have taken your great power and reigned. When the Seventh Trumpet sounds, God and his Christ will immediately move to exercise their great power to intervene upon the Earth. From that moment on, Satan's grip on the world will begin to slip and his kingdom begin to unravel.

…The nations were angry and your wrath has come. The anger of the nations will have been building throughout the Tribulation. Now, God's hot wrath will begin to rain down upon them by means of the Bowl judgments ... reaching its apex at the battle of Armageddon. At that battle, all the nations of the earth will have gathered together against Christ Jesus and, consequently, will experience firsthand the wrath of God’s Almighty Son.

…And the time of the dead [has come] that they should be judged. The judgment of the dead will have been set in motion (though not all at once, nor all on the same day). Jesus said,

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice [Christ's voice] and come forth; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. John 5:28-29

…And that you should reward your servants the prophets and the saints. Bear in mind that judgment and rewards are two very different things. Rewards are given for faithfulness and fruitfulness. The elders spoke of two different groups who are scheduled for rewards during the days of the seventh Trumpet. The Church is not one of them, by the way. She will have already been rewarded, as we noted back in 4:4. The people who the elders are referring to here are Old Testament prophets and saints. They will receive their rewards after their resurrection at the end of the Great Tribulation. They include such people as Adam and Eve, Enoch, Jonah, Ruth, Hannah, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Elijah, Elisha, and John the Baptist, the greatest of the Old Testament prophets, (Matthew 11:7-11). Daniel 12:2 is a key scripture here...

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

[Note: One other group of saints, the Tribulation Saints, will also be resurrected and rewarded at the end of the Great Tribulation. I believe this is implied in Daniel 12:2. Although we are not told of their resurrection and rewarding, logic dictates it. It is my opinion it will occur in conjunction with the resurrection of Israel and the Old Testament saints.]

…And [you] should destroy those who destroy the earth. In conclusion, the elders testify that during the days of the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet, Christ will destroy all those who destroy the earth. Destruction of the Earth is one of the wanton hallmarks of the wicked. A modern-day example that comes to mind was when Saddam Hussein ordered his troops to torch hundreds of oil wells in Kuwait and to dump millions of gallons of oil into the Persian Gulf. The resulting devastation was horrendous, and its effects will last for generations. From the beginning of time, wicked men have been destroying God’s beautiful Earth, both individually and collectively. Their self-centered, reckless and devil may care attitude toward God's creation is witnessed daily in our world and is well documented in both ancient and modern history.

Think about this for a minute. God gave man dominion over the earth. Thereby, he became responsible to manage, care for and preserve it. In Genesis 1:26, we read,

And God said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. (KJV)

But, when sin entered in, man became Earth's destroyer instead of its keeper. Jesus said,

The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13:41-42

For all the destroyers of the earth then, there is a payday coming. It too will take place during the days of the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet. The elders joyfully confessed the many things that were set in motion when the seventh angel sounded his Trumpet. Truly, on that day, the kingdom of this world will have become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. When the Seventh Trumpet sounds, it’s a done deal! The process of putting all enemies under the feet of the Son of God will immediately begin and be relentlessly executed all the way to its conclusion at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20).

11:19

At the close of this great and auspicious scene, the temple of God was opened in heaven and the ark of his covenant was seen. Keep in mind that God's temple in Heaven is real ... of which the tabernacle of Moses' in the wilderness, as well as the later temples of Solomon, Ezra, Herod, and the temple of the Tribulation ... are duplicates and mere shadows. Immediately following the jubilation that erupts at the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet, Heaven's temple itself will ... once again (6:14-17), be opened so that men on earth are able to see into Heaven. This time, however, they will be looking directly into the Holy of Holies and will be able to see there ... the ark of his covenant. The ark is a distinctly Jewish piece of furniture. Therefore, I believe this event is especially aimed at unbelieving Jews who are still alive at that very late hour. This whole amazing event will answer the prayer of Psalm 132:89,

Arise, O LORD, to your resting place, you and the ark of your strength. Let your priests be clothed with righteousness, and let your saints shout for joy.

You will remember that the lid of the ark was called the mercy seat. It was made of solid gold and included two golden cherubim with their wings extended over it. Inside the ark were the stone tablets written by the finger of God (Exodus 40:20), Aaron's rod that budded (Numbers 17:8-11), and a bowl of manna commemorating the wilderness wanderings of the people of Israel (Exodus 16:33-34). Of all the furniture in the Temple, the ark speaks the loudest of the fact that God is in a covenant relationship with his chosen people, the Jews. When the ark becomes visible from earth, time will be running out for the remaining Jews who still persist in their unbelief. This visual display the ark in Heaven will be a powerful appeal to them. In essence, God will be saying, I haven’t forgotten who you are and my covenants with you. Have you forgotten me and your covenant with me? My Mercy Seat is still open. Won't you come? God’s great love for his ancient covenant people is incredible. As we have it in Romans 11:28-29,

As concerning the gospel, they [the Jews] are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes. For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance [irrevocable].

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