Revelation 11:15-19 Series

Revelation 11:15-19

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.

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.”

In this verse there appears to be this transfer of kingship. The transfer is from Satan back to God and Christ. But we need to be careful with this verse I think, because whatever kingship Satan had God allowed it. Not only did God allow it but God granted Satan this kingship.

You may be asking yourself why, why would God allow Satan kingship over the world? It in some way fulfilled God's plan and glorified God.

Was this absolute kingship? Meaning was God powerless over the world? No, at no time did Satan have absolute power and authority over the world. Satan was still under God's authority at all times but given certain reign over the world for a certain time. Satan was limited like with Job in what God allowed Satan to do.

God is at all times in control and high king over all of His creation. If God wasn't, God would not be God and we would have zero hope.

There is this interesting section of scripture where God actually tells us why

Potter and the Clay

Romans 9:21-24 ~ Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

Who is the potter here? God/Jesus Who is the clay? Us/all creation

22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

Vessels of wrath vs vessels of mercy or the lost vs the saved. We would never truly understand God's mercy and grace if we didn't have something to compare it to, but God did give us something that being the unsaved.

23 ~ “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy”

God allows sin and Satan and the unsaved so that we who are being saved can appreciate what we have in God's grace, mercy and His power in salvation.

Back to Revelation

Revelation 11:16 ~ And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

God takes back kingship over the world and the twenty four Elders then fell to their knees in awe.

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.”

These Elders are giving thanks to God for both His wrath as well as His mercy and how God displayed His might over all of it perfectly.

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.

So God unveils the Ark of the Covenant and from it they see God's full glory.

It's as if God was saying, you think everything you have seen me do so far made you in awe, look at this. Like a peacock opening its tail feathers but so much better.