The Bible teaches that God Almighty has appointed 7
trumpets to signal a remarkable series of events in the last
days. When the first trumpet is
sounded, 1/3 of this very planet will be consumed by hail and
fire. The second alarm will call for
something like a great mountain that will crash into the sea,
turning it into blood and destroying a third of its
creatures and even the ships on it.
The third sound will invite a star from heaven to destroy 1/3
of the rivers and the springs of water that will make it deadly
to drink. The 4th, the Bible tells us,
will actually dim 1/3 of the sun, moon, and stars.
The 5th trumpet will actually summon some of the most vicious
and heinous demons to torment the inhabitants of the earth for
a total of five months. And the 6th summons 4
high-ranking fallen angels to lead the charge in slaying 1/3
of the human population. As unimaginable as these things
are, there is yet one more trumpet to be sounded.
And unlike the previous ones, the 7th trumpet will not set
into motion, at least directly, any cataclysmic event.
Instead, this final climactic blast will awaken the hearts of
those in heaven to offer exuberant praise and worship.
For what reason? Well, as we are about to read,
because something is about to transpire that the redeemed have
been waiting and praying for across the ages.
And we're going to see that together in Revelation Chapter
11, beginning in verse 15. And I invite you to look at it
with me as we seek to complete this chapter this afternoon.
Here's what the word of God says.
Then the 7th 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. And the 24 elders who sit on
their Thrones before God fell on their faces and worship God,
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 the nation's rage.
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.
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. Pray with me, Lord, You've been
with us. We pray that you would go before
us in the reading and the explanation of Your Word.
We pray that Your Son would be exalted.
We pray that our hearts would be uplifted.
And we pray that in all these things Your will would be done,
that you would be blessed as we receive your blessing.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Well, you know that on Friday nights we're studying Ezra.
But before that we've spent many, many months studying the
books of first and second kings. And if you were there for those
studies, then you would recall that on many occasions whenever
a new ruler was coronated, it was sometimes accompanied by the
sound of a trumpet to announce his enthronement.
And that is precisely what we are seeing here, that that's the
reflection that there is an announcement being made with
this 7 trumpet and it is one that focuses on the person of
Jesus Christ. You see, the reason why there is
such a strong and joyful reaction to the sound is because
there is this long-awaited promise that is ready to be
fulfilled, the promise of God's eternal Kingdom coming to earth
and being established forever and ever.
And this is so imminent, this is so near that it's being
recognized in this very moment. Christ is about to return.
In this description of God's prophetic timeline of the last
days, by this moment, at this juncture, we are being told that
Christ is about to bring the full manifestation of His
Kingdom to this world. And this is something that stirs
the hearts of these worshippers in obvious and even subtle ways.
And I want you to see something as we look at the song of
triumph and compare it to other portions of the Book of
Revelation. So if you have Revelation open,
go back to chapter 1. I want you to see something here
in verse 4, Revelation 1, Revelation one, verse 4, John to
the seven churches that are in Asia.
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to
come, and from the seven spirits who are before His throne.
Go down to verse 8 of chapter 1. I am the Alpha and the Omega
says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come the
Almighty. Go to chapter 4 verse 8 now and
the four living creatures, each of them with six wings are full
of eyes all around and within and the and day and night.
They never cease to say holy, holy, holy is the Lord God
Almighty who was and is and is to come.
This declaration of the eternality of God and the wide
span of His ways is repeated in the same way as we just saw in
all these occurrences. Right.
But did you notice what was omitted in that similar phrase
in the act of worship of Chapter 11?
Look at it again with me, Revelation 11 verse 16 and the
24 elders who sit on their Thrones before God fell in their
faces and worship God saying we give thanks to you, Lord God
Almighty, who is and who was full stop for you have taken
your great power and begun to reign.
What's missing this time? Who is to come?
Why, because he's about to come. Christ is about to fulfill that
very part. He's about to make his way into
this world, and the 7th trumpet announces his enthronement.
It's preparing us for it. But the coronation of the Lord
Jesus is not the only thing that's being celebrated here.
You have to understand that this celestial choir has a
comprehensive understanding of the things that will follow as a
result of Christ establishing His throne on the earth.
And there are at least five things, at least five things
that we can examine from these verses that we read together.
And we're going to look at it. But before we look at it, I, I
want to present something. I want to present by way of
example, what I pray and hope our response to these truths
will be look at the 24 elders and see what happens to them.
Again, in verse 16, it says here.
And the 24 elders who sit on the Thrones before God fell on their
faces and worship God. So the revelation of the return
of Christ was so profound, so forceful, that it catapulted
these high-ranking beings off their seats of honor and planted
them on the lowest place possible on their faces before
the presence of God. And I can't help but think that
our hearts should respond in a similar way as we hear this
message that we too would experience a fresh sense of
surrender, A rush of adoration towards Christ, as we are going
to remember that this Jesus that we love, this Jesus that has
saved us from our sins is going to come back.
And we will see him, we will behold him, and we will see at
least five things happening as a result of it.
And so let's consider this now together.
The first thing that we can expect at the return of Christ
is that this world will be conquered by His Kingdom.
This world will be conquered by His Kingdom.
I find it fascinating that the voices in verse 15 do not say
the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of our Lord
and of His Christ. It doesn't say kingdoms.
Look again. What does it say in verse 15?
The Kingdom singular? He's not Speaking of the plural
here. And this detail reminds us of a
crucial truth of the world that we live in, that although there
are diverse nations and there are unique governments and there
are, there are different ideas of politics being implemented.
There are diverse cultures, absolutely.
But in reality, everything is ultimately ruled under one
Kingdom, and that is Satan's. That is Satan's Kingdom, and
this is something that the apostle John who wrote the Book
of Revelation always believed and always taught.
Let me remind you of a known verse from his first epistle.
In first John 519 John says we know that we are from God and
the whole world lies in the power of the evil. 1 The whole
world lies in the power of the evil.
What a jolting thought that the world you and I live in is
dominated by Satan only because God has permitted him to
administer a large amount of influence in this present age.
But what's very heartbreaking about this statement John makes
in first John 519 is the word that he uses concerning our
world. It lies in the power of the evil
one. That word lies in the original
language denotes the posture of a baby, which means that the
world is not struggling, resisting or fighting against
this invisible evil spiritual reign.
It voluntarily rests in the grip of Satan.
It lies in the power of the evil. 1 Moreover, John tells us
that not just part of the world, not just certain nations, but
the whole world is under his domain.
That means our politics, our entertainment, our economy, our
cultures, alternative religions and expressions of spirituality
have a level of satanic influence behind them.
And if it wasn't for God's common grace of operating in our
world, then we would see hell on earth.
But even with God's grace being dispensed every single day, we
still have to understand and comprehend that Satan is at work
in every sphere of society. And that is not meant to cause
any of us to live in paranoia, because it easily can.
What we are told, according to John, is that we should know
this so that we can be discerning, that we can be
cautious, that that we should be alert as we navigate through
this life dependent on the Lord. Understanding this.
Believer, please hear me. You and I are living in enemy
territory. Every single moment of our lives
we are living in enemy territory.
This world is not neutral towards Christians.
It is hostile. Temptations, deceptions, and
even persecutions are lurking all around us from the moment
you wake up and get out of your bed to the moment you return to
lay your heavy head on that pillow.
You and I are always at war, and that warlike mentality should
change the way you approach everything, including your
relationship with the Lord and the Church, how you engage with
everything that comes your way. But here's the good news about
Christ, that there is an appointed hour when he will
actually physically, bodily invade this world, overthrow
Satan's tyranny, plant his flag on every single hill, and we're
going to see an awesome thing. The whole world will be under
his influence. Every corner of our culture,
every facet of our society will be under his authority.
And I'm afraid that many Christians have an overly
simplistic understanding of the last days, summarized usually in
Well, there's a day coming where Christ is going to come snatch
us all the way, judge the world to hell while we're tucked away
safe in eternity. The doctrine of the return of
Christ is much more triumphant than that.
And here's a hint, Christ is coming for his bride, but he's
going to do much more than that. He's going to again come and
terminate Satan's reign. And then with the redeemed, he
is going to promote many of his church to actually live in
positions of authority to rule and reign with him.
According to Revelation 24, a 1000 years as we witness what
the world has never seen. And that is a perfect
government, where Christ will for that length of time declare
to the generations that He is the true king, and that only His
government can bring true peace and true justice.
And when Christ does come to take over the Kingdom of this
world, he will fulfill what Zechariah 14-9 prophesied, that
the Lord will become the king over all the earth.
And in that day the Lord will be 1 and his name 1.
The first thing that we can expect when Christ comes back is
that he's going to conquer this world.
But #2 the dead will be judged. That's what we find near the
start of verse 18. Look again with me.
The nations raged, but your wrath came.
And the time for the dead to be judged.
So in the same way that the the rule of Christ will be
universal, so will his judgement be every single person, man or
woman. They will stand before the
tribunal of God, and in that moment he will determine their
eternal faith with perfect justice.
And so extensive is this judgment that even the dead will
not be able to escape. And in fact, they've sealed
their faith once they have died. Now, what's this judgment going
to be about exactly? I believe this.
The same verse gives us a clue. Look again at the beginning of
verse 18. The nation's raged, but your
wrath came. And then he speaks about
judgement. So what are the nations so angry
about? Well, we're going to find out in
a moment here. But this is what it shows us
thus far, that God's judgement, his scrutiny will confront a
raging world, an infuriated people.
And the reason why they are so enraged is because of God and
his reign. That's the context, is it not?
Christ's Kingdom is coming, the nations at the thought of Christ
coming and ruling has caused them to be inflamed with such
anger and he will judge them for it.
These lyrics are very reminiscent of Psalm 2, are they
not? Remember how much of Revelation
is absolutely saturated with the Old Testament?
What did Psalm 2 say in the beginning?
Well, the psalmist asked the question, why do the nation's
rage and the people's plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed,
saying, Let us burst their bonds apart and castaway their cords
from us. Here's the translation.
The nations are enraged because they cannot fathom that the Lord
and His anointed would seek to place their yoke upon them.
They view His leadership as intolerable.
They understand that his His lordship is an unwelcome divine
restraint, and so they will oppose Him.
The world will actually oppose Christ up to the very moment
that He makes himself visible in all His glory and power.
And yes, it is true that the world abhors the thought of
Christ material reign, but let me remind you something.
They deny and reject His spiritual reign just as much as
you and I experienced his reign today.
Christ is not going to become King when He comes back.
He is King now, but His kingship will be in full display, and the
way He rules and reigns now is spiritually in our hearts
through His Church. And I want to make the case that
the world is just as vehemently upset and opposed to the concept
of Christ ruling over them now as they will be when He comes
back. And here's a test for you and I
to know if we're worldly, if we're like the world.
Do you desire his rule and reign?
Do you desire his kingship over your life that determines if you
truly belong to Him? And and the way we prove it
ultimately is by the way we live.
So when Christ comes back, He will meet the unholy, rebellious
rage of the world with His holy, unstoppable wrath.
The essence of this judgement is Christ confronting the living of
the dead who did not joyfully surrender to His lordship when
they had the chance. The dead will be judged #3 the
redeemed will be rewarded. Look again at the middle of
verse 18. It's right in the middle,
actually. And four, rewarding your
servants, the prophets and Saints.
What a wonderful promise. So while an angry world should
expect wrath, the redeemed anticipates rewards, not wrath
rewards. And in case you're listening to
this message and you're unfamiliar with the the central
message of our faith, Christ is not coming back with the
possible reward of our salvation depending on how you lived.
No, no, no, no, no. His salvation is a free gift
that has already been given and received by your faith.
That being said, the rewards that He will come with are for
the redeemed who have already experienced His grace and
received it by faith. But we'll know either more or
fewer rewards based on their commitment to Christ and their
faithfulness to Him. That's what's in view here.
So it's the rewards for those who have been redeemed, His
servants, the prophets, the Saints, those who fear your
name. So we're not waiting, hoping
that Christ is going to save us. I hope that my name is written
in the Lamb's book of life. That's been said and done.
However, there will be an evaluation about how you and I
lived with the truths that we have in the word of God as
Christ being our Lord. This is what we have to
anticipate. And this is so marvelous because
God's way of judging is so different than man's.
Look at the last phrase of this verse.
We see here that it will be, yes, the servants, the prophets,
the Saints, and those who fear your name.
But he mentions the small and great.
Do you see that? Both small and great.
What does he mean by that? Well, it's the encouraging truth
that the Lord is ready to honor both those who are widely
recognized, highly praised and appreciated, and those who go
largely unnoticed by the world and especially the church, both
small and great. You may be here today as a
genuine follower of Christ. You love him, you adore him, you
serve him, you are steadfast. You, you, you come to church and
you, you love the Bride of Christ.
And at the same time you from time to time look at your own
life and think, I'm just, I'm very ordinary.
And I don't know if my contributions to the Kingdom
actually matter much. In fact, they might be meager
actually. And if that is you, I want you
to be so encouraged today with this truth in this verse that if
you are faithful, God will reward you.
God will reward you. You know, you and I were
reflecting last time we were together in this book about how
the great city of Jerusalem in God's eyes was condemned, was
vile, was morally bankrupt, great in the sight of man, but
in God's view, so found wanting, so lacking.
The way God perceives things is extremely humbling and sobering.
And I was reflecting on this earlier this week of how the
Lord looks at people way differently than you and I do.
And what came to mind was what the Angel told Zechariah, who'd
be the father of that great man of God, John the Baptist.
And I want to read to you what the Angel told Zechariah, and
it's for you as well. And Luke 114 listen to these
words, and you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice
at his birth, verse 15 For he will be great before the Lord,
and he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be
filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb.
So many today are pursuing an understanding of greatness that
is worldly, that are tirelessly disciplining themselves because
they are motivated by a secular notion of legacy.
I want to leave a legacy for my family.
I want to leave a legacy for my generation.
And what you find here instead is that if you and I want to
attain unfading, everlasting reward, all you have to do in
your ambition is seek to be great before the Lord.
Do you see that in verse 15? He shall be great before the
Lord? And how God views greatness is a
strong contrast to how the world measures it.
And all I have to be preoccupied with on a daily basis is to
understand how the Lord esteems greatness, and then to pursue
it, trusting that though I may be overlooked, though I may be
underappreciated, though I made me ignored, Oh, there's a day
coming where He will personally reward me.
And His reward will outweigh the prizes of 10 thousands of your
companions who may express their gratitude for you.
It will be from the Prince of Peace himself.
And I'm reminded from this that oh God, you must be my primary
audience all the time. You are the one that I am
seeking to please. And when you listen, when you
live in that reality, I assure you this, the back breaking
pressures of worldly success and the agonizing lies of being a
failure will roll off your shoulders.
He will come to reward the redeemed.
But fourthly, the last part of verse 18, we read an interesting
declaration. And for destroying the
destroyers of the earth. The fourth thing that we can
expect when Christ comes back is a destruction of the wicked.
The wicked will be destroyed. Listen, we're all sinners.
Each of us have fallen short of the glory of God.
And yet, the Bible tells us that there are different categories
of evil that can be committed, and what's being highlighted
here is not those who pollute the environment or who are
careless towards the ecosystem, but those who are ambitiously
seeking to corrupt the world through their evil, especially
those in powerful positions and platforms of influence.
God is going to target the destroyers of the earth, meaning
in context, He's going to come after the Antichrist, his
minions, and his evil empire. Absolutely.
But this also encompasses anyone who has promoted or encouraged
sin in ways that disintegrate the fabric of society.
Christ is keeping in mind those who are leading the charge or
adding fuel to the fire that is destroying this world.
So let me be very clear. Anyone who advocates for the
murder of children in the womb is a destroyer of the earth.
Anyone who encourages someone to believe that they are not the
gender God assigned at birth is a destroyer of the earth.
Anybody who teaches and advocates and encourages people
to marry of the same sex is assaulting the very bedrock of
civilization and is a destroyer of the earth.
Anybody who has haunted down or harassed a Christian or the
church who by the word of God is identified as the salt and the
light of the earth, is a destroyer of the earth.
Christ is coming for those who destroy the earth.
And here's hope, if you have played a part in that, that even
if you have done something to harm God's intended world, what
God has designed for His creation, you can call out to
Him and he will forgive you completely, totally.
And not only will He forgive you, He will adopt you.
And not only will He adopt you, He will crown you and reward you
should you remain faithful to Him.
But all for those who are adamant and stubborn and
convinced that they are doing a world of favor by destroying it
according to the authority of God's Word.
I say to you, you will be destroyed.
Christ himself will destroy you. Wrath is looming over your head,
and you must flee the wrath to come and hide yourself in Christ
while you have life. The wicked will be destroyed.
Finally, and what I'm looking forward to the most is what we
find in verse 19. And 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 and earthquake and heavy hail.
The fullness of God's presence will be restored.
This is symbolically portrayed by John's words in this verse as
he sees the unthinkable. You have to understand that John
has a Jewish mind. He is a Jew and he understands
that for centuries the Ark of the Covenant was veiled.
It was designed to be hidden. It was not meant for the
onlooker or the common gaze. Even the most privileged in
Israel, the high priest, only had a single day to get a glance
of this golden chess piece that symbolized God's presence on
earth. And yet at this point in this
vision, as he hears this amazing song being sung, he also sees
the temple in heaven opening and the Ark of the Covenant in
complete view, signifying what? That at Christ's coronation we
will know the fullness of His presence.
What was commonly known to be concealed now emerges for all to
behold. And so here's the message of
this The nations can expect God's wrath, but you and I, who
are righteous in Christ, are being prepared to have full
access and unending enjoyment of communion with God himself.
Listen, whatever testimonies that you have known of the
reality of God, whatever sweetness you have tasted in
your relationship with Christ, are but a few drops of a passing
cloud in comparison to the cascade of glory that awaits you
as you enter into this realm and are washed by it endlessly.
This is what you and I get to have.
This is our inheritance. This is what awaits all of those
who are in Christ, whether they die and enter into that world or
if Christ comes back and brings that world to us.
And this is something that the Bible looks forward to over and
over again. Again, in the same way that I
believe that many believers, precious believers, have a very
limited understanding of the last days, they also have a very
limited understanding of heaven and the heaven that Christ will
bring. If you look at the language of
the New Testament, what the greatest men of God look forward
to the most was Christ himself, an unhindered fellowship with
man. Let me give you familiar verses
that many failed to meditate on. Listen to Paul's words.
You don't have to turn there, but just soak this in.
In Philippians 123, he says, I am hard pressed between the two,
My desires to depart and not be in heaven.
But what Be with Christ, be with Christ, for that is far better.
What's far better? Being with Christ, Whoever
Christ is, that's where heaven is.
And Paul says as he is contemplating his potential
martyrdom, I just, I can't wait to be with him.
Listen to how he encourages the believers in First Thessalonians
417. Then we who are alive, who are
left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air. So we will always be with the
Lord. Do you see that?
With him, with him, with him? So that's why we are, we are
really strange as Christians because we can actually smile at
death because it's the portal to being with Christ.
But what we're being told here is ready or not, Christ is going
to come with all His glory and we will marvel at it and we will
enjoy it. We will savor it and we will sit
there. Never bore with the company of
Christ. Never.
I'm sure there are some people in your life, even for the
severe introvert, that you enjoy being with, with all their
limitations and all their problems and all their
imperfections. But there is One who will
radiate so much joy and peace and power that it will keep you
captivated for eons. That's what heaven is, and John
gets a symbolic picture of it. This arc now is in full view.
And as Christ comes back, He's going to bring a measure of His
glory that you cannot even understand with your mind today.
Do we long for the same? Do we yearn for it?
Can we echo this refrain of this song, the song of triumph?
Can I ask you this very pointed question?
Do you find yourself yearning for it?
Do you find yourself meditating on it?
Do you find yourself praying for it?
I always enjoy my Bible reading about the introduction of any
individual in Holy Writ because the Bible has a principle that
whenever we are introduced to a person in the Scriptures, what
we find at first impression is very telling.
And my mind, as I am just chewing on these truths, went to
an obscure figure by the name of Simeon Simeon.
Simeon, Simeon, that old man who had the privilege of carrying in
his arms the Messiah as a baby. But let me remind you what the
Holy Spirit says about Simeon in Luke chapter 2 verse 25.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this
man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of
Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
What a way to introduce this man.
His righteousness and his devotion is connected to his
patient waiting for the everlasting Kingdom of the Son
of David to arrive in his lifetime.
So if you were to open up Simeon's heart, what you would
find is a heartbeat that continually was beating for the
manifest reality of the Kingdom that God spoke of in the Holy
Scriptures. And I can't help but look at my
own life and ask, do I find myself waiting for the same?
When my mind goes into a default state, does it ever visit the
thought that Christ will come back with His Kingdom and
furnish me for it? He'll make everything right.
He'll make me right, and I will see Him face to face and enjoy
Him for eternity. Do I ever think about that?
And Simeon knew it. In part, he got to explore the
the reality of Christ's coming in his first advent, but the
fullness of it is yet to come. And according to the Book of
Revelation, before it does come, though it is around the corner
that the seven trump of this blast it's about to happen.
There's still awaits a full set of judgements before it does.
Final observation before we break bread, look back at verse
19 after we learn about the Ark of His covenant.
The last sentence there, there were flashes of lightning,
rumblings, peel of Thunder and earthquake and heavy hail.
What's happening here? A storm is brewing.
Why? Because yes, the 7th trumpet
announces the coronation of Christ, but it also calls for
the pouring out of the seven bowls of God's wrath to make it
happen. And that is what you and I will
study in the coming weeks. And the fact that Christ's
inauguration is being announced here shows that the final sets
of judgments have to be very quick.
It will be a short sequence. It will happen perhaps in a
matter of days, at longest weeks.
And you're going to get that sense when we read these bowls
being poured out, that they are rapid fire, which makes sense in
our understanding of why Christ's coming is announced.
It's not going to be very long, and we're going to see that
together. Let's prepare our hearts.
We thank You, Father, that this song of triumph belongs to us as
well. Lord, we can't wait for the day
where You do conquer this world and that You will show the world
that You are the true King. We thank you that you will make
everything right. We thank you that you'll reward
those who have served you, even even the small and
insignificant. We thank you, O God, that you
will end Satan's reign and that you will clean up everything
that he has destroyed. You will restore it, You'll
regenerate it. And that we thank you that the
ultimate prize belongs to each of us.
And that is the complete realization of Your presence
before us. We may not understand how that
will be, but we believe Your word and look forward to it.
And Lord, as we come to this table, we are reminded of how
that is made possible. That before you come a second
time, You came the first time, and that you shed your blood,
and that you lived out our obedience, and that you
transmitted your righteousness. You imputed it unto us.
And that we are made perfect and fit for eternity because of your
grace. Help us rejoice in this promise
that has become our reality. Today.
We give you glory and thanks in Jesus name, Amen.
As the praised team comes, we're ready to sing and rejoice over
these things. Just examine your heart, take
your time to really reflect on what we're about to do, and in a
moment we will come and eat together.
Let's stand.