"He Shall Reign Forever and Ever" Sermon: Revelation 11:14-19 (video)

 "He Shall Reign Forever and Ever" Sermon: Revelation 11:14-19 (video) (youtube.com)

"He Shall Reign Forever and Ever" Sermon: Revelation 11:14-19 (manuscript)

 

“He Shall Reign Forever and Forever”

Revelation 11:14-19

June 9, 2024 YouTube

          We have reached the end of chapter eleven of Revelation.  It is the end of another cycle of the telling of the history of sin and its consummation, and the Incarnation of the Son Who pays the debt of believers and credits us with His Righteousness culminating in the full coming of the Kingdom – this history is told seven times with increasing intensity. The reason God revealed these things to John and sent them out to the Christians suffering great persecution is that they would be comforted and have hope knowing that their suffering has purpose, and Jesus is coming in Glory to bring them into the fulness of His Kingdom forever.  These things are true for all Christians throughout time and space.

          Our reading last time ended with verse fourteen: “The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come.”

          Take note for now that the second woe ends at the end of verse fourteen of Revelation 11, but the third woe does not come next.  Next, we have the joyous promise of the punishment of all evil eternally and the eternal Reign of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit manifest in bringing all who believe in Jesus savingly into the Kingdom God prepared for them from before the foundation of the world.  The third woe will be revealed later – after this joyous good news about the end of these corrupt people and the restoration of the world.

          The seventh trumpet is blown by the seventh angel.  Paul tells us what the seventh trumpet is in I Thessalonians: “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 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, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (I Thessalonians 4:16-18, ESV).

          In Jesus’ time, when a General brought his army back victorious from a battle, the army would gather behind him, and then the people would gather behind them as they proceeded into the town.  We see this as Jesus enters Jerusalen with the crowds following after Him.

          Paul uses this imagery telling us that at the blowing of the seventh trumpet, Jesus will descend through the clouds – just as He ascended – to eternally put down evil and bring His people eternally into His Kingdom on earth.  Jesus – as the victorious General – goes forth, and all of the believes who died will be resurrected in their bodies and join Jesus, and then those believers who are still living will be brought to the clouds behind the dead, and they will all descend as His victorious entourage.

`        Paul says that these words should encourage believers because it tells us that suffering has purpose, there is hope, and we should find hope in remembering that Jesus will descend through the clouds, and He will raise the dead in their bodies to descend with Him, and He will bring the living up with Him that they too would be part of those who descend with Him in victory.  

The seventh and final trumpet in blown by the seventh angel, loud voices cry out in heaven – the angels, the creatures, the saints waiting for the last day, and they say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

The cries in heaven become louder as we go through the book, “building a sense of excitement” (Beeke, Revelation, 330).

And they proclaim that the kingdom of Satan and his demons and all those who never believe in Jesus savingly will become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. Based on Jesus’ victorious work on earth to save His people, all that are evil will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented forever and ever.  However, Jesus will bring all of His people, resurrected in their bodies, to the restored earth, which is the Kingdom, and Jesus shall reign forever and ever over His Kingdom, and He lives among His people.

Paul tells us, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:52-57, ESV).

“And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,”

We will remember that the twenty-four elders represent the tribes and the apostles – as well as all of the elect. They get down from their thrones, which is only right, and they fall on their faces as though dead and worship God. Is there anything more appropriate to do in the presence of God?

And notice that we must use our minds in worship – it is not all emotion – there must reasons behind our praising God.  We don’t just say praise God with no substance behind it (Beeke, Revelation, 335-336).  Listen to the song of the elders:

“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 nations raged, 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.’”

          “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was,” We give thanks to the Immortal God – why?

          Because You have taken Your Great Power and begun to reign.  At the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the fullness of the Kingdom is no longer future – it is now.

          Because the nations raged, but Your Wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged has come. All will rise from the dead in their bodies and the wicked will receive the Wrath of God.

          Because You will reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and for the rewarding of those who fear Your Name, both small and great.  They also will be raised in their physical bodies.

          Because You destroy the destroyers of the earth.

          Because the seventh trumpet is sounded and Jesus returns with His entourage of the angels, the resurrected dead, and all those who believe but have not died, and He will judge all who bear the Image of God throughout time and space. Because He is Holy and cannot allow sin and evil to remain in His presence.

          Consider another song, “I love Him, oh how I love Him, sun and moon and stars, you know I love Him.” What does that tell us about God?  Is there a reason for why the singer loves Him?

          We worship for a reason – for many reasons – there must be a reason behind why we thank God, why we love God, why we worship God, and so forth.

          When the seventh trumpet sounds, God will display all that He has been doing.

          “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.”

          God’s temple will be opened to all people throughout time and space.  All will know that the physical Temple is gone, and the Heavenly Temple is revealed to all. 

Paul tells us, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?” (I Corinthians 3:16, ESV).

And Peter tells us, “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (I Peter 2:4-5, ESV).

Of course, we are not turned into real stones, and neither is Jesus.  We are like the house build on the rock that Jesus talked about in the parable.

Both believers and unbelievers will see the revealing of the heavenly temple, and all will see the Ark of the Covenant that we remember from the Old Testament.  A piece of Holy furniture in the Holy of Holies containing the two tablets of the Law.

The Ark of the Covenant is a sign of God’s presence with us.

It is the sign of God’s grace. Inside are the two tablets of the Law – those things that must be kept to be righteous before God.

Consider the Ark of the Covenant itself.  The lid of the Ark was the Mercy Seat, and it is where the priest would sprinkle blood for the forgiveness of the sin of the people – God’s pardon for their sin.  The Ark symbolized Jesus:  the Ark was gold covered wood.  The gold symbolizes the deity of Christ, and the wood symbolizes the humanity of Jesus. Jesus takes the place of the Ark of the Covenant on our behalf.  His blood – the blood of the God—man is poured out, so we are forgiven and pardoned. (Beeke, Revelation, 328-329).  

For all we who believe, the blowing of the seventh trumpet will be a glorious day when God reveals how God’s plan has worked out through history since the Creation until that day.

It will not be so for the unbelievers: “There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.” For the unbelievers, the seventh Trumpet, the coming of Jesus, and the opening of the Temple will be a day of great horror as they see the eternal plan of God for them and even nature attacks them in preparation for God’s judgement of them.

In the end of chapter eleven of Revelation, we see the joyous news that Jesus is the Victor over evil and sin, and He will gather all His people to descend with Him to earth where He shall reign forever and forever.

We see that worship is the right response to coming into the presence of God and seeing all that God has done.  The elders fell on their faces as they understood that Jesus will return and resurrect every person who has ever lived to face God’s Wrath for the evil or God’s blessing on believers.  And we see that worship has a purpose – everything that we lift before God has a “because” attached to it.  True worship is not a simple mouthing of words.

And we see that at the seventh trumpet, Heaven will be open, and all will see Jesus and all believers who make up the temple. Everyone will see the work Jesus did symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant, and the believers from all time and space will rejoice beyond all joy, and then those who never believe, Satan and his demons, will suffer and be thrown into the lake of fire.

And we have comfort and hope because our God and Savior is carrying out His Plan as He intended from before the foundation of the world. Know what happens to the Christians of the first century – and all Christians throughout time and space, don’t lose heart, our God reigns forever and ever.

Let us pray:

Almighty God, give us hope and comfort as we suffer for being Christians.  Keep our eyes on Jesus, and His eternal reign. Keep us focused on His promises and not the threats of the world.  Let us praise Jesus because He reigns forever and ever.  Rejoice!  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.