Revelation 11: Sing of His Reign

Key verse 
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.”
 
Meditation
Jesus reigns, and His kingdom is coming in fullness. Therefore, believers have reason for witness, perseverance,  and worship.
 
The second woe, two witnesses, and the seventh trumpet make today’s reading confusing. John uses imagery drawn from Zechariah, Daniel, and Israel’s history to portray the Church’s witness during the turbulent time before Christ returns (vv. 1-14). For 1,260 days, the same three-and-a-half-year period in which the nations rage, God’s witnesses faithfully testify. They are identified as “lampstands” (v. 4; cf. 1:20), reinforcing the Church’s calling to shine gospel light in a world darkened by rebellion. Their apparent defeat is temporary; God raises them and vindicates their witness (vv. 7-13). The world may oppose Christ’s Church, but it cannot extinguish His light.
 
The seventh trumpet shifts the focus from conflict on earth to worship in heaven: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever” (v. 15). Handel famously puts these words in the Hallelujah Chorus. Redeemed hearts sing because history is moving toward Christ, not chaos. 
 
The chapter concludes with a preview of God’s grand purpose. As the heavenly temple opens, the ark of His covenant is revealed (v. 19). God is present with His people! 

Jesus followed this pattern: faithful witness, suffering, apparent defeat, resurrection, and exaltation. Because our King was raised and now reigns, the Church can follow Him without fear. We witness while the world rages, persevere when suffering comes, and even sing in the struggle, because the kingdom belongs to Jesus, and He shall reign forever and ever.

 
Today’s Reading
 
Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.

The Seventh Trumpet
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.

Richly Dwelling
-The imagery is confusing! Where do you see God’s sovereignty in ways that strengthen you?
 
-What difference does it make that Jesus’ kingdom is an already reality, though it is not yet fully realized in our world of pain, problems, and persecution?
 
-How can you (practically) join the chorus of saints who celebrate God’s presence by singing of God’s power, siphoning strength to persevere?

 
Key verse 
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.”