Blessed Are Those: A Journey through Revelation – Part 13

The Kingdom of Our Lord  - Rev 11:15-19

Crosspoint – Dave Spooner – March 30th, 2025

Intro:

• When we gather together as a church, I want to encourage you to come with the mindset to both give and receive. Come to give of your time, energy, and focus to honor the Lord and bless others. Come to give worship and praise, love and encouragement, help and support, prayer and friendship, and to use your gifts and abilities to build up the body of Christ. Come to receive as well. To hear from the Lord, to be blessed and built up in your faith, to receive love and encouragement, help and support, prayer and perspective, understanding and revelation. Gathering with this mindset every time you participate in church will be satisfying and helpful. And you will leave saying, “It is good to be in the house of the Lord.”
• Speaking of revelation, this morning, we are continuing our journey through the book of Revelation, looking at it through the lens of receiving a blessing by reading, hearing, and obeying what is written in it (Rev 1:3). This morning, we will focus on the last five verses of Revelation chapter eleven. The first part of this chapter is notoriously difficult to interpret, with various understandings of its meaning. If you hear something presented that is different from how you view these things, I would encourage you to continue to investigate and wrestle with the passage through study and conversation, and perhaps you will change your understanding, or you will be further convinced and strengthened in your original position. Either way, you will be growing.
• I do try to focus on what is most clear in the passage, and this morning I will do the same. I pray that God will help me see what is true about Him and the passage and what will be most helpful for our congregation to hear. I pray that God will give us ears to hear and eyes to see and that He would speak to us and move among us.
• Our passage for today is an important one, and it may provide a guide for us in reading the rest of the book of Revelation. Bible commentator Alan Johnson observed this about our passage:

“This passage contains a synopsis of the remaining chapters of Revelation. The nations opposed to God and incited by the fury of the dragon (12:12) have brought wrath on God’s people (Ps 2:1-3). For this, God has brought his wrath upon the nations (14:7; 16:1ff.; 18:20; 19:19b; 20:11-15). The time (Kairos, “season”) has now come for three further events: the judgment of the dead (20:11-15); the final rewarding of the righteous (21:1-4; 22:3-5); and the final destruction of the destroyers of the earth (Babylon, the beast, the false prophet, and the dragon) (19:2, 11; 20:10).” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 12, p. 509)

• We are going to read our passage for this morning in its entirety; if you have a Bible with you, open up to Revelation 11:15 or use the Bible provided in the pew and turn to page 1069. After we read the passage, we will focus on four things that I believe we are to know from this text, why they matter, and how they will help us now. After we have read about the series of six trumpets being sounded and what they reveal, today we will read about the sounding of the seventh and final trumpet and what happens when it is sounded.

Revelation 11:15-19 NIV

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

 16 And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

 18 The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

 19 Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm.

Know that Christ will reign forever

 Revelation 11:15 NIV

The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

 What a glorious announcement this will be! At the sounding of this trumpet, those in heaven who have been eagerly waiting for this moment finally cry out in loud voices, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.” (This is the same thing that the prophet Daniel saw as recorded in Daniel 7:13-14.)

• God’s kingdom will finally break out in all its glory, and the kingdom of this world, all those who rule and rage against God, will be fully and completely under the reign and authority of Christ the Messiah, the savior, and the great King. No one will be able to stand against Him, all knees will bow to Him, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father (Phil 2:10).
• His reign will be an everlasting reign. It will go on forever and ever. There will be no more sorrow, sickness, or suffering. There will be no more sin, separation, or sadness. All things will be set right, made new, and redeemed for ever and ever. “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (I Cor 2:9 ESV).
• In reflecting upon this, the Apostle Paul encourages us and helps us by saying:

 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

 Don’t lose heart; the troubles of this world, which at the time seem overwhelmingly heaving and forever, are “light and momentary” when they are compared to the weight of glory that will be revealed and that will last forever. Fix your “eyes” on this: what is yet to come. Everything that is seen in this world is temporary, but what is now unseen will be revealed at the sounding of the last trumpet and will be eternal.

• Know that Christ will reign forever – therefore, do not lose heart. This fact should cause our souls to break out in rejoicing and song. When the great composer George Frideric Handel read this passage, he wrote his work “Messiah” where the “Hallelujah Chorus” comes from. I think it is fitting for us to listen to the Hallelujah Chorus performed by the Royal Choral Society in London. Pay special attention to the words, because they come right from this passage.

 Know that worship is the right response to our great God  

 Rev 11:16-17 NIV

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.

 In the opening sentences of the book of Revelation, the Apostle John gives the church a greeting that says: “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come” (Rev 1:4 NIV). And now, after the final trumpet has been sounded, the description of God has been changed to “the one who is and who was,” and the “one who is to come” has been dropped off. Why? Because the God who has promised to return has returned. From this point, for forever more, He will be the God who was and who is because He will be with us forever. No more separation for all eternity.

• Know that worship is the right response to our great God—starting now.
• Worship is much more than what happens during a “worship service.” And if you think heaven is going to be one eternal church service, you’re wrong. Granted, I am sure there will be times when we will gloriously sing together and listen to God collectively, but worship is so much more than what happens in these collective gatherings.
• We are to present ourselves as “living sacrifices,” and this is our “spiritual worship” (Rom 12:1). Paul also instructs us that “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Cor 10:31) and to “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thess 5:18). All of life can be and should be as worship to God (as all of eternity will be).
• We see the essential elements of worship, honor, and thanks to God in this section. The elders honor Him by gladly and rightfully getting off their thrones and falling on their faces, in humility and service, in recognition that all that they are and have is His, and they give it to Him in honoring who He is. They give thanks for who He is, the Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was. They praise and thank Him for His attributes of who and what He is. Living like this, being like this, acting like this, speaking like this is the heart of worship; don’t wait until heaven to do it. And don’t let the rocks out-worship you (see also Rom 1:18-23; Luke 19:40; Isa 55:12).

 Know that all will be judged

 Rev 11:18 NIV

The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your people who revere your name, both great and small—and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

 This passage is the exact fulfillment of what is written in scripture, over and over and over again. Look at what is written in Hebrews 9:27, “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” and 1 Peter 4:5, we “will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” Jesus taught that “on the day of judgment people will give an account” (Matt 12:36) and at the end of Revelation, Jesus says, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done,” Revelation 22:12. (See also Ps 2:1-12; Matt 12:36-37; 25:31-46; Rom 2:1-11; 1 Cor 3:10-15; 1 Cor 15:22-28; Heb 4:10; 9:27-28; 1 Peter 4:5-6; Rev 20:11-15.)

• We must pay attention to this; all will be held accountable, and all must give an account. This is sobering and serious and also glorious and magnificent. Those who have rebelled against God in their anger and have refused His grace will receive what they deserve and will meet with the wrath of God because of sin and its results. Those who have received the grace of God and have chosen to serve, honor, and follow the Lord will be rewarded, both great and small.
• This means that we don’t take justice into our own hands but wait for the Lord to respond. This means we are to focus on doing what is right and good and just and holy, knowing that the Lord will reward us for these things. Even though they may be painful now, it will be rewarded then.
• Know that all will be judged—serve and revere His name. Fully and joyfully serve Him with all your heart, and have a profound measure of respect and awe for His name. Do good whenever and wherever you can look to Jesus, and learn to become more and more like Him.

 Know that we will enter the fullness of God’s presence

 Revelation 11:19 NIV

Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a severe hailstorm.

 After the judgment, the temple of God in heaven will be open and accessible to all. The place of the greatest restriction, the holy of holies, the place where God dwells in His fullness, will be opened. And in this scene, there is represented both the promises, represented by the ark of His covenant, and the power, represented by the lightning, thunder, earthquake and hailstorm of God.

• In His presence, we have His promise and His power. We can trust Him and rely upon Him for our every need. We can draw near to our creator and, enjoy His goodness, and give Him glory forever, where the heavenly Kingdom will be the only reality forever.

Conclusion

• As we reflect on the seventh trumpet and the glorious picture it unveils, we are reminded that history is moving toward a definitive and victorious end: Christ will reign forever. Our call now is to live in the light of that coming reign with unwavering hope, wholehearted worship, reverent service, and joyful anticipation.
• Revelation 11 invites us not only to look forward but also to live faithfully now. Fix your eyes on what is unseen but eternal. Worship the One who is and who was as we wait for Christ to return.
• Serve with confidence, knowing that nothing done for the Lord is ever in vain. And look forward with joy to the day when we will enter the fullness of God’s presence, where His promise and power will be fully revealed.

Benediction

May you go from this place with hearts stirred by the glory of Christ’s coming kingdom. May you live each day in the light of His eternal reign. And may you be found faithful until the day the trumpet sounds and all is made new. In the name of the One who will reign forever and ever—Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

 Our prayer team is available to pray with you after the service near the “Prayer” sign at the front of the sanctuary and also in the prayer room, next to the offices.

 Questions for Growth Groups

1. What stood out to you most from Revelation 11:15-19, and why?
2. What are some practical ways you can give and receive when you gather with the church—so that each time you can say, “It is good to be in the house of the Lord”?
3. How does the promise that Christ will reign forever encourage or challenge you in your current circumstances?
4. How can we prepare our hearts to worship more fully, both in corporate gatherings and in everyday life?
5. What does it mean to “revere His name,” and how can we cultivate a deeper reverence for God in our lives?
6. Why is it important to remember that God will judge all people? How does this shape your perspective on justice and mercy?
7. How does the picture of God’s temple being opened and the ark of the covenant being revealed deepen your understanding of His presence and promises?