He Shall Reign Forever: The Final Victory of Christ – Revelation 11:15-19

HE SHALL REIGN FOREVER:

The Coming Kingdom of Christ

Revelation: Every Eye Will See Him

Revelation 11.15-19

THE TEXT:

The text for the sermon today is Revelation 10. Our text can be found on page 1030. These are the words of God:

 ¹⁵ Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” ¹⁶ And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷ saying,

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

who is and who was,

for you have taken your great power

and begun to reign.

¹⁸ The nations raged,

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.”

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Remember, Revelation is not written in a linear fashion, from start to finish. The events in Revelation are not all successive. Instead, Revelation is a series of visionary cycles.

John wrote this way because he wants you to hear the same story from different perspectives.

The 7 seals and trumpets share similarities, but there is a major difference. The seals ended with silence in heaven, while the trumpets end with a song.

So, with the 7^th trumpet in our sights today, we notice that this passage is about the end of this age, even though it’s in the middle of Revelation.

1. 15 – Loud voices in heaven, likely the Great Multitude (7:9-17) declare that the end has come. The kingdom of the world, which God allowed Satan temporary dominion over (John 12:31-36), has been transferred to the full, complete, and forever rule of Christ.

1. 16 – The 24 Elders (Rev 4) who represent the church, fall down on their faces and worship. In chapter 4, they falls down and worship God as Creator, now they fall down and worship for he has brought all creation to its consummation.

1. 17 –No longer are the Saints crying out for vindication. This is all gratitude. This is the ultimate Thanksgiving Day. The kingdom of God, which is invisible in this age, will be fully revealed in all its power on the day of Christ’s return.

1. 18 – Acts as a summary of this age: the nations raged (Psalm 2). And what did all their raging accomplish in the end? The wrath of the Lord came, and the time of the dead to be judged. This judgment includes both the reward of the saints, and the destroying of the destroyers.

1. 19 – Once the song has concluded, the 7 Trumpets end with the revealing of God’s temple and the ark of the covenant in heaven. What’s happening here? On earth, temple is the dwelling place of God. In the OT, the temple was first the Garden, then a physical building. In the NT, it’s a people. Now, it’s all heaven opening to all of creation. The dwelling of God is with men.

1. GOD WINS

Unlike most of Revelation, the commentators basically agree that this passage communicates the one overarching message of Revelation: God wins.

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (V. 15)

What Satan had formerly ruled, as the “god of this world,” (2 Cor. 4:4), has now been taken over by the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice in v. 15, that John refers to the “kingdom” of this world in the singular. There are many nations in our world today, but truth be told, they are all apart of one earthly kingdom ruled by Satan.

In 1 John 5:19 we are told that the now, in a sense, the “whole world lies in the power of the evil one,” but the day is coming when God will overthrow every single enemy.

Application: Remember, that the Trumpets are concerned with warning. They warn the unbelieving world to turn around before it’s too late. This is the future we all face.

GOSPEL

2. THE NATIONS NO LONGER RAGE

When you think of the return of Christ, what do you get excited about? What makes you long to see that day?

John tells us that the return of Christ means the end of the rage of the nations.

¹⁸ The nations raged,

but your wrath came,

You may have never prayed, “Lord, please return and judge the nations,” but realize that many Christians have. Most of Revelation is about Christians suffering at the hand of state-sponsored persecution.

This is why the Elders are singing.

Application: the kingdom of the world will not be Christianized until the return of Christ.

 

I want to live in a Christian nation, with distinctly Christian laws, full of Christians who worship Christ.

• Because I want the nations to worship Christ, I gather every Lord’s Day with you to proclaim the gospel.

• Because I want the nations to have distinctly Christian laws, I vote.

But I also realize that if we elect a great leader, they won’t last, and if we elect a rotten leader, they won’t either. We are waiting on the enduring reign of the eternal Christ.

3. GET EXCITED

Verse 18 tells us that when Christ returns and judges the nations, in that same judgment, he will reward his saints:

¹⁸ The nations raged,

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,

What is the reward of the saints? (Matt. 25:34) It’s to inherit the kingdom God has been preparing since before the worlds were made.

Application: While you can make the mistake of looking forward to heaven more than you look forward to Christ, this passage encourages you to live with eager expectation.

We should all be like my son, who made a 54-day countdown calendar to Halloween.

4. GOD WITH US

On this day of Christ’s return, when he takes up his power, subdues the nations, and rewards the saints, on that day, God will be with us.

¹⁹ Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.

Inside the temple, we see the greatest symbol of God’s presence in the Old Testament: the Ark. (Explain) When Israel lost the Ark, it was like losing God himself.

The best news of the gospel is not that the nations are subdued. It’s not that we will be rewarded. The best news is that God will be with us.

And on the day the Great I Am,

The Faithful and the True

The Lamb, who was for sinners slain,

Is making all things new.

Behold our God shall live with us,

And be our steadfast light.

And we shall ere his people be,

All glory be to Christ.