Revelation 11:15-17

And the seventh angel sounded. Whether the last crash of judgment on the doomed city fell at the sounding of this seventh trumpet or fell with the last woe of the sixth trumpet, is not of much importance. The six trumpets may have been sufficient to describe the catastrophe, or maybe the final limax at the end of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh may be sealed up in the voice of the seven thunders. Be that as it may we have here, in the final delineation, the results and effects of the preceding events, of the treading under of Jerusalem. This may indeed be all that the seventh trumpet was intended to reveal, that is, the moral and spiritual outcome when the persecutor was destroyed.

Now we are shown a scene in heaven; when the seventh angel sounded and the stroke of divine judgment had fallen, then there were great voices in heaven saying: "The kingdom of this world has become our Lord's and he shall reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders fell on their faces and worshipped God." Here is the exultation of heaven over that which has taken place on earth. But how does this fit in with the view that we have been dealing here with the overthrow of Jerusalem? We will see, I think, that this is a proper climax and a proper result. In verse 18 the elders go on to say: "And the nations were angry and thy wrath is come." Jerusalem had stoned the prophets as Christ said, then crucified the Lord of glory, and later persecuted and martyred the apostles and saints, and now "thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged," Not all the dead as if this were the final judgment at the end of the world, (we will find that at the end of chapter 20) but this refers to those martyred dead who had fallen in the persecutions. In chapter six we saw them under the altar in heaven praying: "How long Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Now here it is said, 'And the time of the dead is come that they should be judged or avenged and that thou shouldst reward thy servants that fear thy name.' They were assured in chapter six that it would be yet a little season and now that little season has run, the doom has fallen on the persecutor, or as here said, that thou "shouldst destroy them that destroy the earth."

Now this does fit in with the overthrow of Jerusalem. Heaven rejoices that the persecutor of the saints is no more. The first great opposer is swept away, and "the kingdoms of this world," no, rather the rule or sway of this world belongs to Christ. Now the kingdom was really given to Christ at his ascension; but two things had to happen before it was rightly on its way as a world conquering power. The first was spiritual, the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost; and the second was physical, the breaking down of the barrier of Judaism in the fall of the first great opposer. Then Christianity became a world religion.

V. 19. And the temple of God was open in heaven and in it the ark of his testament and there were lightnings, voices, thunderings, earthquake, and great hail. These were the echoes in heaven of the smash and crash and cataclysm that had occurred on earth. Elsewhere in Revelation where thunders and lightnings and earthquake and hail, etc. are visioned, they are tokens of judgment and so evidently they are here. The judgment had fallen. Jerusalem was trodden down.

This ends the first half of the book. It culminates in the destruction of Jerusalem as the first great persecuting power against the infant church. Then after this the book moves on to the destruction of Rome as the second great persecuting power as we shall see in subsequent Chapter s. That this is the true view of the book must be evident to all who have followed this exposition with any degree of comprehension.

We have seen how it was addressed to the people and churches of John's day as a stimulus and encouragement to them in the trying scenes which they were facing. We have heard John say that these things would shortly come to pass, but he never says it would be a long time.

We have seen how the martyred saints in heaven were assured that it would yet be just a little season till their martyrdom was avenged. We have seen how the culminating events were located in Jerusalem, described as the city where our Lord was crucified. We have seen that the altar and temple and city were standing and then it was given over to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles for three and a half years.

We have seen the armies described in terrible imagery that came to besiege and destroy. We have seen the moral and spiritual aim or purpose or result that the rule or sway or sovereignty over this world belongs to Jesus Christ. The very outcome of this series of visions shows the impotence of pun^ man to oppose the onward march of the kingdom of Christ. He will overturn and overturn till he reigns whose right it is.

If this is not the true interpretation of this book, then we may despair of finding one. How could the facts and events which we have passed in review fit any other mould than that which has been given? This is the plain sensible view of the book as evidently indicated by the writer himself who penned these prophecies. And if this is the true view, then all other views are logically ruled out; for there can be only one true view however many imaginary views there may be.