Revelation 11:15-19

15         Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign forever and ever.”

16         Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God,

17         singing, “We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty, who are and who were, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.

18         The nations raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead, for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints and all who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

19         Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple, and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

The seventh and final trumpet has been sent off. The world has been turned over to God, the Messiah, and their reign that will least for eternity. The coming judgements are no longer partial – but final in their destruction. God unleashes his full consequence on the world that refuses to turn to him and acknowledge his ruling. Those who have agreed to relationship with God and to follow him as their Lord and Savior are protected from the destruction – its just for those who intentionally reject a relationship with him. This still begs the question: Why follow a God who would destroy those who don’t follow him?

First things first, I want to remind you that this is apocalyptic imagery. It’s poetry. It’s a parable. It’s describing something that will happen in the future but using terms and images that would be more common for John’s original audience. It’s commonly harder for us to understand because we are not involved in the same culture and point of history that they are. Second, I want to remind you that God is patient. We don’t know when this will happen to begin with. John and Paul, who often referred to the end times, believed it would happen in their lifetime. It may happen in our lifetime. With this pressing on their minds, they didn’t want others to risk the potential for their eternal being, so they pushed people to follow or face the consequences which they believed to be intense. They would be taught the constant threat/fear about a repeat of Noah’s flood from Genesis 6 recurring.

With all this being said, it’s easy to focus on the wrath of God, anger of God, fear of the Lord, and question why this being worth following. God teaches us compassion. God teaches us forgiveness. God teaches us to love our enemies. God teaches us to help the needy. God teaches us to give to the poor. God teaches us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give liquids to the thirsty. God teaches us how to create for our environment. God teaches us how to care for our relationships. God teaches us how to care for ourselves. Following his teachings leads to a place where nothing can harm or hurt us. A place where there is no evil, pain or sorrow. It will not be during our earthly life sadly, for the earth is a broken place and God knows that. The destruction in Revelation is to rebuild the Garden of Eden into a New Eden and begin the cycle again. Yet, we’re taught to do God’s will and share with others what the Kingdom of God is all about. The more we do this, the more we our world turn into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Can you do all this without God’s name? It’s encouraged to do this whenever possible, regardless of if you’re a Christian or not. There’s a lot of Christian values and teachings forced within our general life, schooling, and lifestyles that we don’t realize and those we do that are forced on us. If they forced upon you, I’m sorry. Following God should never be a forced choice, no matter the positive intent is behind it. We should always have a choice in following God. My encouragement to you is: will you make the choice that comforts life beyond what we know? Will you be willing to risk doing what could be normal life for you to help ensure what life looks like beyond our earth is a positive experience? None of us know what that could be like, but why risk it?

Those who will intentionally reject the teachings of God and the avoid his relationship will face the consequences of that decision. Those who do the opposite will face the rewards of the decision. The Old Testament taught that obedience often brought rewards, but that obedience and immediate rewards are not always linked. Theres’s this mindset in our world today as well. We often think our good deeds and obedience to our teachers, rulers, bosses, and related people should result in immediate rewards. Often, it’s not the case. Our following of the teacher’s rules would lead to good grades at the end of the marking period. Our following of the boss’s rules would lead to a possible promotion or pay raise next year. The lesson from this is that we would do what is right now, for we will never know when the responses to those right acts will come across our path.

Associated Scripture:

Revelation 11:15       Psalm 10:16; Daniel 2:44, 7:14, 7:27; Revelation 10:7, 12:10, 16:7

Revelation 11:16       Revelation 4:4, 10

Revelation 11:17       Amos 3:3, 4:13; Revelation 1:8, 19:6

Revelation 11:18       Psalm 2:1; Revelation 10:7, 19:5, 20:12

Revelation 11:19       2 Chronicles 5:7; Revelation 4:5, 15:5

Next study blog: It’s a Zoo in Here – Part 1