January 28 – He Will Reign

January 28 – He Will Reign

Revelation 11:15-19

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 Christ, 
         and he will reign for ever and ever.” 

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 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. 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 saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great— and for destroying those who destroy the earth.” 

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 great hailstorm.

I hope you recognized words from Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus at the beginning of this passage.

There were seven seals and with the opening of the seventh seal, seven angels began to sound their trumpets (Revelation 8:6-9:21) bringing destruction to an unrepentant earth. After an interlude, now we hear the sound of the seventh trumpet.

Loud voices in heaven could be the angels surrounding the throne or more than likely, the great multitude of voices who have found salvation from the Lord.  This is a victory celebration and theologians disagree as to the reason it is found here before the final plagues are released on earth and the final battle is fought.

Some believe that the seals, trumpets and bowls are all occurring in parallel, not consecutively, so this celebration comes at the same time as the wedding feast in Revelation 21. Others believe that this is a portent of the future when all has been settled, the kingdom established and the Lord reigns.

Whatever the timing, that there is a celebration in between the descriptions of God’s wrath being poured out is a relief to the reader.  It is a reminder that though God will punish sin, for those who repent and overcome, there is also celebration.

When God reigns, the time of anticipation will be over.  We will no longer wonder what will happen to those who destroy His earth and refuse to accept Him as Lord.  This victory celebration will celebrate that what has always been in the future will be real in the present.  The Lord will reward His servants.