Seventh Trumpet (Third Woe): The Victory Of Christ Series

By: Tom Lowe Date: 7-22-16

Series: Verse By Verse Through Revelations

Title: Seventh Trumpet (Third Woe): The Victory of Christ and His Kingdom Proclaimed (11:14-19)

Revelation 11:14-19 (KJV)

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

15 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.

Introduction

The last trump is about to sound, and that will lead to the outpouring of the vials of God’s wrath. But first we are given a glimpse of the crowning in Heaven of God’s rightful king. It seems as though they never get tired of crowning Him in Heaven! The title deeds of earth were given to Him in chapter five, and the elders cast their crowns at His feet. Here He is acknowledged as earth’s rightful King. Later, in chapter 19, he comes forth as King of kings and Lord of lords, and on his head are many crowns.

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The scene is in Heaven, but news of what is happening is released on earth, with the result that the nations are enraged. They want no king but Caesar. One is tempted to linger long over this passage because the next two chapters are indeed deficient of blessings because they are occupied with the purposes of the evil one. Two truths are set before us here. The third woe on earth is described, and the thankful worship in Heaven is described. The two events stand in stark contrast to each other. Judgment on earth, jubilation in Heaven; rage on earth, rejoicing in Heaven; cursing on earth, crowning in Heaven; woe on earth, worship in Heaven. God balances the one against the other with expert skill.

OUR STUDY OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION REQUIRES THAT WE BEAR IN MIND THAT JOHN IS DESCRIBING THE VISION THAT GOD GAVE HIM OF FUTURE EVENTS LEADING UP TO THE END OF THE WORLD.

Commentary

14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

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Verse 14 marks the end of the parenthetical portion of the vision; that includes everything that takes place between the sixth and the seven trumpets (10:1-11:14).

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The flying eagle had warned of three “terrors” or “woes” to come upon the earth: “As I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying in midair call out in a loud voice: “Woe! Woe! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the trumpet blasts about to be sounded by the other three angels!” (8:13). The first woe was recorded in 9:1-12; the “second woe” in 9:13-21 and 11:1-13. The “third woe” is coming very soon. Most likely, 11:18 hints at the third woe which will include the battle of Armageddon—the final battle between God and Satan. This will begin when the angel sounds the seventh trumpet.

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15 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.

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In verse 15 we have the resumption of the trumpet judgments. The sounding of the seventh trumpet is the official proclamation of the coming coronation of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Actually the change of rule, with Christ as King over all the earth, does not occur until the events recorded in chapters 12-18 have been fulfilled.

The Church is safe with Jesus in the air and at this time will have a grandstand seat in the heavens. The angel announced in Revelation [2]10:6 that God’s dealings with earth’s dwellers are almost over, and righteousness is about to take over. The Lord is taking over what rightly belongs to Him. There was now no turning back. The coming judgments were no longer partial but complete in their destruction. God unleashed His full wrath on the evil world that refused to turn to Him: “The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts” (9:20-21). When His wrath begins there would be no escape.