The seventh angel blew his trumpet

    and there followed loud voices in heaven which said


    “The sovereignty of the world
    now belongs to
    our Lord and His Christ
    and
    He will be King
    for ever and ever.”



    Then the twenty-four elders, who sit on thrones in the presence
    of God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying:

      “We give thee thanks, O Lord God, the Ruler of all,
        Who art and wast,
        Because Thou hast exerted Thy power, They great power,
    and hast become King.
       The nations grew wrathful,
        And Thy wrath has come,
        And the time for the dead to be judged,
        And the time for Thee to give their reward to Thy servants
    the prophet and to Thy People,
      and to those who fear Thee, the small and the great,
       And to destroy those who destroy the earth.”


    Then the doors of God’s sanctuary in heaven were opened

    and the ark
    in which His covenant was
    was seen in His sanctuary


    and there came:

    flashes of lightning
    and voices
    and peals of thunder
    and an earthquake
    and a storm of hail.



    Seventh Trumpet:  The Kingdom Proclaimed
       Anticipated Consummation
    View of Consummated Kingdom

11:15  Then the seventh angel sounded.  And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdoms
of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and
ever!”

  • Seventh trumpet opens seven bowls – and is the third woe
  • Third woe comes speedily
  • Evidentally the ‘last trumpet’ (JFB)
  • When the seventh trumpet sounds, it looses the completion of the wrath of God.  Things are going to becoming to a
full boil at that time.  
  •  At the sounding of this trumpet the Lord Jesus Christ descends, with His saints and mighty angels, to end the
    tribulation period, bind satan, and to inaugurate His millennial reign.  With the seventh trumpet the dispensation
    closes.  (W)
  • The seventh trumpet is blown, announcing the arrival of the King.  There is now no turning back.  The coming
judgments are no longer partial, but complete in their destruction.  (LB)
  • The silence as to the fate of the wicked, with whom the trumpet visions have so far been chiefly concerned.  Their
doom is simply shown as consummated. (TB)
  • When seventh trumpet sounds, instead of judgment falling, there is heard a chorus of heavenly voices praising God.  
The unidentified voices proclaim the replacement of the kingdom of the world by that of our Lord.
  • This brings us once more to the consummation of all things (TB)
  • The entire scene represents an accomplished victory (TB)
  • The world judgments are complete in six, but by the fulfilment of seven the world kingdoms become Christ’s (JFB)
  • With the seventh trumpet we do not see the consequences which follow on earth, but those in heaven are set before
us.  It is the setting up of heaven’s sovereignty over the earth visibly, which, when invisibly exercised, was rejected by the
earthly rulers heretofore.  The distinction of worldly and spiritual shall then cease. (JFB)
  • The last trumpet followed by a proclamation (Z)
  • Reign forever and ever – here begins the millennial reign, the consummation of ‘the mystery of God’ (JFB)
  • The sovereignty of God has never ceased, but now it is universally manifested and acknowledged; at last the time has
come for the full realization of the divine purpose that in Jesus name ‘every knee should bow’ (Z)

References:  Revelation 8:2; 10:7; 12:10; 16:17; 19:1; Isaiah 27:13 (So it shall be in that day:  the great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who
are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the Lord in the holy mount at
Jerusalem); Exodus 15:18 (The Lord shall reign forever and ever); Daniel 2:44 (And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a
kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand forever); 7:14 (Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve Him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.  And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed),
27; Luke 1:33 (And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end); Acts 4:26; Psalm 2:2 (The kings of the
earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His Anointed)

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

  • They thankfully recognise the right of our God and Savior to rule and reign over all the world.  (MH)

References:  Matthew 19:28 (So Jesus said to them,  “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of
His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel); Revelation 4:4, 10, 11; 5:9, 12, 14; 7:11

11:17  saying:

     “We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty,
     The One who is and who was,
     Because You have taken Your great power and reigned.

  • Who is to come – this is now omitted because His reign is here pictured as having begun (NIV) (Z)

References:  Revelation 16:5; 19:6; 1:8

11:18  The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
     And the time of the dead, that they should be judged,
     And that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints,        
     And those who fear Your name, small and great,
     And should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

  •  A telescope of the whole coming between the first coming and the Second Coming
  • The nations rose their hearts up against God.  They fretted against God, and so increased their guilt and hastened
their destruction (MH)
  •  Judged often is used in the sense of “to avenge” (AC)
  • The climax of judgment is to be elaborated in the vision of the seven bowls; the climax of reward in the vision of the
new Jerusalem (Z)

References:  Psalm 2:1 (Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing?); Daniel 7:10 (A fiery stream issued and came forth from
before Him.  A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.  The court was seated, and the books
were opened); Revelation 20:12; 10:7; 16:6; 13:16; 19:5; Psalm 115:13 (He will bless those who fear the Lord, the small together with the great)

11:19  Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His
temple.  And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.

  • This was in the Holy of Holies; in this ark the tables of the law were kept.  Now the scriptures are opened and are
brought to the view of all (MH)
  • Preparation is made for the vision of the seven bowls by the opening of the heavenly sanctuary – implying the
revelation of God’s hidden counsel  (Z)

References:  Revelation 4:1, 5; 15:5, 8; 8:5; 16:21; Hebrews 9:4 (having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides
with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant.)