Rev 11:15-19 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (16) And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, (17) Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. (18) And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. (19) And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
Good morning, Reader! The deeper we dive into the Book of Revelation, the more grieved my heart becomes. I can’t imagine mankind being so stubborn that they reject the Lord Jesus Christ in order to continue living in sin despite the judgments that have occurred till now! It shows the lack of conscience. It makes me think of (Isa 5:21) Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! (See also Judges 17:6, Proverbs 3:7, Proverbs 16:2, Proverbs 30:12) These attitudes speak loudly today and will be much more prevalent during the Tribulation. The disturbing thing for me is that they remain that way despite the judgments thus far! There is no conscience at all! (Isaiah 56:11)
Today, we’ll be covering that Seventh Trumpet. Notice that John writes about a pause where an announcement is to be made. This trumpet announces that God is about to take over the earth as its Judge and King! It’s exciting for the believer to read this but not so much for those who have not given their lives over to Jesus Christ. Take note that the 24 elders come into John’s view once again. The elders that were sitting before God fall on their faces and worship Him. We know that the 24 elders are symbolic of the Church in Heaven. This is mentioned six times in Scripture and only in the Book of Revelation (Rev 4:4, Rev 4:10, Rev 5:8, Rev 5:14, Rev 11:16 and Rev 19:4).
I love that the church is sitting with the Lord (as a Bride never leaves the proximity of her Spouse: 1 Thess 4:16-17). She is clothed in white, which is the righteousness of the saints as we see in Rev 7:9 and Rev 19:8; just as a typical bride gives her dowry to her spouse, this Bride casts the crowns of gold (given to her by the Lord for the work she has done for Him here on earth) at the feet of her Spouse!!! (1Cor 9:25, Phil 4:1, 1Thess 2:19, 2Tim 4:8, James 1:12, 1Pet 5:4, Rev 4:4, Rev 4:10) After all that Jesus went through to provide us salvation through Him, the least we should want to do is to give something back to Him. Although we can never possiby repay the Lord for His horrible death for our sin, we can give Him the crowns He promised us for our work for the Kingdom’s cause. My heart is overwhelmed when I think about this event, dear friend! Truly there is nothing I can give Him that would even come close to paying Him back… but the one thing that Jesus wants the most is my heart. Just as in the Christmas hymn titled, “A Christmas Carol” by Christina Rossetti: … what can I give Him, give him my heart.” (Romans 10:8-10) Amen and amen!
While all of this is happening in Heaven, those dwelling on earth are not happy at all. Revelation 11:18-19 tells us that the nations are angry. If they are angry at this point, just think of how they will react at the upcoming judgments! But before all that, God is going to give us a history lesson on just how the “god of this world” came into power. (2Cor 4:3-4) I truly believe that the Lord put this in His Word at this very spot so that we could see just what kind of evil force Satan truly is.
If you are not born again, reader, please don’t let another day go by without Christ! (2Cor 6:2) He is the only way to Heaven. No religion on earth will get you to Heaven, no matter what you’ve been taught in your current “church.” (Joh 14:6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Friend, if your religion doesn’t preach salvation through Jesus Christ, you are being misled. You cannot do enough good things to get on God’s good side. No amount of donations or philanthropic deeds will gain you entrance. Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Use this pause to reflect on your eternal soul. It will live in one of two places: Heaven or Hell. Both are very real. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!