Title: Overture to the Seventh Trumpet
Contents
2007' Lecture on Revelation from the pulpit of the tendency (79)
"Overture to the 7th Trumpet (1) (Rev 11:15-19)"
Revelation 11:15-19
I. Overture to the 7th Trumpet (1) (Rev 11:15-19)
The seventh angel blew his trumpet. But after the trumpet was blown, the third woe did not come, but a loud voice from heaven, the worship of the 24 elders, and the ark of the covenant were seen in the open heavenly temple.
1. A loud voice from heaven proclaimed the world reign of the Messiah (Revelation 11:15).
“The seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of the world are the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.”
Now, the kingdom of this world is ruled by the one who has the power of the air, that is, Satan. Of course, it is a provisional divine action. At the end of the world, when the world will be judged, and Satan and his followers will receive eternal punishment, Jesus Christ will now rule anew. This was said in anticipation of that obvious fact. Jesus Christ proclaimed his final victory to rule the world as the King of Truth.
The world that was originally under innocence was under the rule of God. Adam in the innocence world was the head and king of this world. However, because of Adam's sin and fall, the devil ruled this world (John 14:30, 16:11).
But when Christ came into this world, He completed the work of atonement by redeeming His elect from sin. And now he is living in the church and is ruling over the saints who have been saved by the Holy Spirit and the Word.
Also, as he promised, when he comes again and moves his people to a new heaven and a new earth, the kingdom of this world will be restored anew, subject to the Lord, and ruled by him.
When the seventh angel blows his trumpet, the kingdoms and peoples of this world that were under the control of the devil will be destroyed.
It is the cry of a loud voice that there will be no more lawlessness, confusion, corruption of all things, or lamentation in this world again.
This loud voice from heaven announced the final victory of Jesus Christ. The Messiah proclaims the eternal reign of the world. It was heard with a “loud voice” because it is the vision of comfort, hope, and joy for all the church members on earth.
That loud voice was a great hope for the soldiers of the Earth Warfare Church. It also appeared as a 'loud voice' because it is the news that all the churches on the earth who are living in the great tribulation should hear. The fact that ‘Jesus Christ will reign forever and ever’ is the content of the loud voice. Wasn't this the hope of the Earth Warfare Church?
Isn't it foreshadowing that we will be bold in the face of the challenges of the Red Christian by foretelling the church's final victory before the plague of bowls (third woe) contained in the seventh trumpet comes?
2. The worship of the 24 elders was a theocratic worship under the reign of the Messiah (Rev 11:16~18).
They are the ones who are seated before the throne of God. Revelation 11:16 says, “The twenty-four elders who sat on their thrones before God.”
They were pious and humble worshipers.
In Revelation 11:16, it is also said, "Face on your face". Their object of worship was God Himself.
Our text goes on to say, “And they worshiped God and said,” (Revelation 11:16).
The content of their worship was thanksgiving. The text of Revelation 16:17 also said, “Thank you.” Thank God.
What God did you thank?
1) I thanked the living God.
In Revelation 17:17, it is said, “The Lord God, who was of old and who is in the ten directions.”
I thanked the eternal God, the immutable God, the personal God, the living God. I thanked the God of the infinite beings.
2) I thanked Almighty God.
Revelation 11:17 also says, “O Almighty.”
This means that God is powerful. God's omnipotence was manifested in creation, government, providence, and preservation. It was revealed through the work of his only-begotten Son on the cross, who defeated Satan and saved people who fell into sin. God's omnipotence was best shown in the salvation history of his people through Jesus.
3) I thanked God, the king.
Revelation 11:17 also says, “… He Himself seizes great power and reigns.”
He reigns as the Almighty King (Revelation 19:6). reign as an eternal king. He reigns as a holy king. God still reigns.
But sometimes the truth is treated as if it were not the king of the world.
4) I thanked God for judging the wicked.
In Revelation 11:18 it says, “The Gentiles were angry, and the wrath of the Lord came on him, and he judged the dead… ' he said.
He is the God who will judge the living and the dead. He said that after the treasury, the dead in this world would be called out of the grave and judged before the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11-15). Those people are the ones who will receive the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29). Aren't they the ones who did evil in this world?
It is the owners of unbelief.
Indeed, that God is the Supreme Ruler of all things. It is the invocation of the great exercise of sovereignty.
5) I thanked God for rewarding the saints.
In Revelation 11:18, it says, “You reward your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, great and small… ' he said.
The text classifies the subjects to be rewarded into several categories.
The first is called servants and prophets.
These are the people who were called for the gospel ministry and devoted their whole lives to the gospel movement. It is a generic term for all evangelists (workers) in history.
Second, they are called saints.
These would mean chaste saints who received the grace of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, followed the Lamb wherever he led, and kept the fidelity of faith.
They are the ones who, while living in this world, set themselves apart from this world and consecrated their bodies, minds, matter, and time for the Lord.
Third, it is said that they are those who fear the name of the Lord, small and large.
This is a generic term for God's people, all peoples of all ages, geographically, racially (blood), and temporally.
All of these first, second, and third types are rewarded by the living God. Are they not those who have received the resurrection of life (John 5:29)?
Aren't they the ones who exalted the Lord after money? Are they not necessarily those who are following what they have done (Rev 14:13)?
6) I thanked God for destroying the devil.
In the second half of Revelation 11:18, “… And it is the time to destroy those who destroy the earth.”
Who is 'the one who destroys the earth'? He is the king of this world (John 14:30). He was the god of this world. He is the ruler of the power of the air, that is, Satan.
And they are the messengers of Satan.
In Matthew 25:41, it is said that “there is an everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” It is said to be a fire like salt (Mark 9:48-49).
These include the beasts, the false prophets, and those who received the mark of the beast and lived here in Babylon. These are the people who lived in this world playing a game.
The day that will destroy them will come and go. Isn't their final destination a lake burning with fire and brimstone (Rev 19:20, 20:10)?
The 24 elders gave thanks to the living God, the Almighty God, the King God, the God of justice who judges the wicked, the God who rewards the saints, and the God who judges the devil. He fell down and worshiped God. They have already foreseen the final victory and glory of God. It was to thank and worship the decisive defeat of Satan and the refreshing victory of the church.
“Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and in the temple the ark of the covenant of God was seen, and there were lightnings and voices and thunder and an earthquake and great hail.”
1) It was called the temple in heaven.
The temple in heaven is the body of the temple on earth.
Hebrews 9:24 refers to the temple on earth as “a sanctuary made with hands, a shadow of the true.” It is said that Jesus Christ entered the “true heaven” from this earth.
Also, the temple in heaven is the consummation of the temple on earth.
So, isn't this our hope?
2) It was called an open temple.
It's really fun and enjoyable. This is the power of the earthly church to overcome the world. When the church on earth experiences tribulation, the road is blocked on this earth.
But since the gates of the temple in heaven are open, there is nothing to worry about. Didn't God open the heavenly temple for the persecuted church on earth?
Why did you leave it open? Isn't it for our final victory and entry?
3) It is said that the ark of the covenant was visible.
The ‘ark of the covenant’ is the ark of the covenant. The ark of the covenant was a sign of redemption for Israel. The ark of the Old Testament contained the monument of redemption. The monument of redemption,
① It was a jar of manna. This manna was the staple food of the Israelites' church life in the wilderness.
② There was also Aaron's rod that budded. This foreshadowed Jesus Christ who was victorious in the resurrection. Just as Aaron's rod sprouted and it was confirmed that he was God's chosen leader of Israel, so Jesus Christ was acknowledged to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead (Romans 1:4). ③ And inside the Ark of the Covenant were two stone tablets on which the Ten Commandments, which Moses received at Mount Sinai, were carved.
This foreshadowed the Word, Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament times, the ark of the covenant was placed in the Most Holy of Solomon's Temple. But it was lost during the captivity. It was also forbidden to seek it (Jeremiah 3:16-18).
Legend has it that Jeremiah was commanded by God and hid in a cave on the mountain that Moses had climbed. But it is unknown. Through archaeological excavations, if God needs it, he may literally make the stones cry out.
But it doesn't matter if you don't. Because there is the ark of the covenant of God in the open temple in heaven. Because it is the eternal and perfect ark of the covenant.
What was the reason for showing the ark of the covenant in the temple open to heaven?
I think that it is to show the ① certainty of the covenant ② immutability ③ eternity ④ fulfillment ⑤ satisfaction ⑥ victory of God and the church (saints). So, what else do we have but hope?
Obviously, even in the midst of the tribulation of the third woe (hospitality), the church on earth must hope for and gain strength from the open heavenly temple. This is because the ark of the covenant revealed through the open temple in heaven reveals our victorious Savior, Jesus Christ Himself.
4) And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunder, and an earthquake, and great hail.
This is a truly terrifying scene. Lightning, voices, thunder, earthquakes, and great hail are the commercial weapons that God uses to punish the evildoers of the earth.
The instruments of God's judgment are shown through the open heavenly temple.
This shows the God of judgment. This is because the open heavenly temple is the place of the glory of the final victory for the church on earth, and it is also the source of the final judgment.
Then the open heavenly temple is the source of salvation and judgment.