Revelation 11:15 – 19 “Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.”
How can we picture this scene? Our imaginations might not stretch far enough. Perhaps the best “picture” of this scene is the verses from Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” from his Messiah oratorio. With the blast of the seventh and last trumpet, we realize that every thing that has gone before was merely a prelude. Here now is the fulfillment of Scripture. What will happen from now on?
1. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.” Finally, after years of struggle, suffering, and spiritual and physical warfare, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, is taking His Kingdom. All of heaven is celebrating this victory over the forces of evil and darkness! The morning has come and all darkness has had to flee, never to gain a victory again! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
2. “The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Time after time, God has sent His prophets, time after time, believers have witnessed and died, time after time, God has shown signs in the heavens and the earth. God has given the human race every possible opportunity to turn and worship Him. If there are any left at this point who are not worshiping the One True Living God, it is by their own choice. God does not SEND people to hell; they CHOOSE to go there.
3. Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and peals of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.” From the time of the first temple for which God gave Moses instructions, God made it clear that the earthly temples were only a foreshadowing of the heavenly one. Barclay explains it this way: In Revelation 11:19 we come back, as it were, to the present. There is a vision of the heavenly Temple opened and of the Ark of the Covenant. Two things are involved in this vision.
(i) The Ark of the Covenant was in the Holy of Holies, the inside of which no ordinary person had ever seen, and into which even the High Priest went only on the Day of Atonement. This must mean that now the glory of God is going to be fully displayed.
(ii) The reference to the Ark of the Covenant is as a reminder of God’s special covenant with his people. Originally that covenant had been with the people Israel; but the new covenant is with all of every nation who love and believe in Jesus.
Barclay concludes: Whatever the terror to come, God will not be false to his promises. This is a picture of the coming of the full glory of God, a terrifying threat to his enemies but an uplifting promise to the people of his covenant.
PRAYER: Father God, help all who read this devotional to realize that you love them beyond all measure and that is why you sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins. Lord, help us to truly love you and to follow hard after you all the days of our lives. In the matchless Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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