Revelation 11:15-19 meaning

Finally, here at the end of Chapter 11, the seventh angel sounded (v. 15). This is the final angel to sound a trumpet. Every trumpet has brought forth destruction. The first four trumpets brought judgment upon the earth. The fifth and sixth trumpets were the first two of three woes of judgment upon humanity (Revelation 8:13).

We have been told that “the third woe is coming quickly” (Revelation 11:14). The “third woe” is also the seventh trumpet. Now the seventh angel sounds his trumpet and something wonderful occurs—the Lord’s kingdom is proclaimed:

Then the seventh angel sounded; and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (v. 15).

This is the proclamation that what we have been waiting for has finally arrived. The kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ is here.

When he stood before Pilate, Jesus said:

“My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
(John 18:36)

What is happening in this passage is the beginning of what will become a merger of the spiritual and physical kingdoms as one. God gave Satan temporary authority over the earth when Adam fell (John 12:31). God intended for humans to reign but we lost the privilege when we sinned (Psalm 8:4-6, Hebrews 2:6-9).

Thankfully, Jesus restored humanity’s right to reign because of His faithfulness. Further, He desires for all those who are faithful overcomers to reign with Him (Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 3:21). None of that is possible unless Jesus has a physical kingdom upon the earth. And now, at long last, Jesus is bringing His kingdom to Earth. The inauguration of Jesus’s kingdom on earth begins with a pronouncement. The pronouncement is given by loud voices in heaven. We can presume the loud voices come from the heavenly host of angels and saints of God with Him.

The heavenly host pronounces: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.” Some might recognize this as part of the “Hallelujah Chorus” of Handel’s “Messiah.” This is the beginning of the restoration of the Messiah’s glory upon the earth. The pronouncement of His kingdom upon the earth.

At this point there is not a new earth. So we can presume that the world being spoken of is upon the current earth. This makes sense, as it will be during this time that many of the unfulfilled prophecies will be made complete. An example is the promise God made to Abraham regarding the boundaries of the kingdom of his descendants spanning from the Nile to the Euphrates rivers (Genesis 15:18). The kingdom is pronounced, but there are a number of events that will transpire before this pronouncement becomes a physical reality.

At this point, the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God make a pronouncement of gratitude. It seems that embedded within this pronouncement is a sense of thankfulness that now, at long last, their hopes are being fulfilled.

And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give You thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” (vs. 16-18).

The tense in the Greek for begun to reign is in the aorist tense, which is a tense that does not exist in English. It is a tense that does not have any built-in time element attached to the verb, which makes it appropriate to use in the context of the Almighty, who are and who were and who is above time.

So while it is true that God has begun to reign, it also recognizes that God has reigned in the past. But the form and nature of His reign is changing. God is taking the remaining authority away from Satan to reign now, and He replaces that with the authority of Jesus. It would seem that the initial action causing God to have begun to reign is His pouring out of judgment upon the earth. The elders thank God that His wrath came, and that God will destroy those who destroy the earth. 

We saw in Revelation 6:9-11 that the martyrs under the altar petitioned God to judge the earth and avenge their unjust deaths. They asked “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” (Revelation 6:10). Now God is inaugurating His reign by judging the earth, and the elders are filled with gratitude.

The elders note that the nations were enraged. This likely refers to the peoples who reject God’s authority being enraged against God and His Lamb. They resisted, and God patiently waited (2 Peter 3:9). But now, at last, God is bringing justice to the earth. The elders are thankful that Your wrath came upon the unjust and ungodly. 

They are also grateful that the time came for the dead to be judged. The dead will be separated into believers and unbelievers, as sheep are separated from goats (Matthew 25:32-33). Then all the dead will be judged for their deeds, both believers and non-believers (Romans 2:6; Revelation 20:12). The elders here recognize this but appear to look forward with gratitude to the time when faithful believers are rewarded.

All believers will be judged for the deeds they do, whether good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10). The elders look forward to great anticipation for God to reward His bond-servants. The term bond-servants refers to those who are born again through faith in Jesus (John 3:14-15).

The elders note a number of categories of bond-servants who will be rewarded. They mention:

• prophets and 
• the saints and 
• those who fear Your name, as well as
• the small and the great.

The prophets would include those who testified and witnessed for Jesus. The word saints translates the Greek word “hagios” which means “holy” or “set apart” for a special purpose. It is an adjective, so context determines what is being set apart for a special purpose. Sometimes “hagios” refers to the scriptures (“holy scriptures”) and other times it refers to the third member of the Trinity (“Holy Spirit”). Often, the term saints is used to refer to any believer in Jesus, those set apart as holy in Christ (as in Romans 1:7).

Since this passage speaks of rewards, we can presume that here the term saints speaks of believers who were set apart for special commendation due to their faithful witness. It would seem that this list represents a pyramid of faithfulness, starting with the prophets, who testified directly of the name of Jesus. Then proceeding to those who were saints set apart due to their special service unto the Lord. Then broadening to all who fear Your name. God will reward anyone who lives for God’s reward above that of the world.

This applies to the small and the great. The term the small and the great could apply to the small and great in the eyes of those on the earth. It may also apply to the small and the great in the eyes of God. As Jesus instructed us, often the great of the earth will be the least in God’s kingdom and vice-versa (Matthew 19:30, 20:16).

We know that those who please God are those who believe that He is who He says He is, and that His promised rewards will be worth deferring the rewards of this life (Hebrews 11:6).

When Jesus was on the earth, He foresaw this time when His kingdom would be inaugurated, saying:

“Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself”
(John 12:31-32).

Jesus drew all men to Himself through His death on the cross. Satan lost his right to reign. But Satan apparently continued to rule, within bounds set by God. But now at last Satan’s reign will end. He will be completely cast down. This leads to an outpouring of gratitude from the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God. Presumably these twenty-four elders will soon be sharing their reign with Jesus upon the earth. This is a part of the reward promised to Jesus’s bond-servants who overcome as He overcame (Revelation 3:21). 

The word translated bond-servants is the Greek word “doulos” which means “servant.” This is the same word also translated “bond-servants” in Revelation 1:3 where this revelation is said to have been given to John to show to “[Jesus’s] bond-servants.” The promise in Revelation 1:3 is that a great reward will be given to those who heed and do the words of this prophecy. We see now the fulfillment of that promise unfolding in this passage.

The twenty-four elders were introduced to us in Revelation 4:4. Their identity is not explained. Jesus promised His twelve disciples that they would sit on twelve thrones (Matthew 19:28). The other twelve could be His New Testament apostles. But they could also simply represent those who are overcomers who are given authority to reign with Him, as He promises in Revelation 3:21).

Finally, justice that God promised is coming upon the earth. All the rewards promised to the bond-servants who overcame will be delivered unto them. And likewise, those who destroy the earth will themselves be destroyed. 

We now see another vision of the throne room. The word “throne” occurs over forty times in Revelation. We are constantly reminded that God is the ultimate authority. Nothing that transpires in Revelation occurs without His authorization. John sees another vision in the temple of God, which is presumably His throne room:

And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm (v. 19).

John has been looking at Earth. He has been watching judgment being poured out upon the earth. He now becomes aware of a vision going on in heaven. It is said that the temple of God which is in heaven was opened. It seems that the throne room resides in the temple of God (Revelation 7:15). Just as the earthly tabernacle had an ark in the Holy of Holies, so now we see that the ark of the covenant appeared in His temple. 

The Greek word translated ark occurs six times in the New Testament. It refers to a wooden chest or box.

• In Matthew 24:38, Luke 17:27, Hebrews 11:7, and 1 Peter 3:20 it refers to Noah’s ark.
• Noah’s ark was made of wood and covered with pitch to make it waterproof.
• It contained the life of humanity, which was saved from destruction.
• In Hebrews 9:4, it refers to the ark of the covenant crafted under the instruction of Moses, which was placed in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (Exodus 25:10).
• It was made of wood covered with gold and contained three articles (Hebrews 9:4).
• It contained the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Israel to show the way to life (Deuteronomy 30:11, 19).
• It contained Aaron’s rod, which budded to show that God can turn death into life.
• It contained a jar of manna, which is a symbol of God’s provision of life.
• Here in verse 19, it refers to an ark that is in the temple of God in heaven.

As we see in Hebrews 9:4, the Ten Commandments contained in the earthly ark are called the “tables of the covenant.” This is because the commands written in stone contained a summary of the covenant into which God entered with Israel (Exodus 19:8). God promised that if Israel would adhere to His covenant, and love their neighbors as themselves, that they would be greatly blessed (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Here we are told the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. The other occurrences in scripture that speaks of the ark of the covenant refer to the Old Testament ark built according to God’s blueprint. We are told in Hebrews 9:23 that the earthly tabernacle was a copy of the real thing in heaven. It would seem then that this ark of His covenant which appeared in His temple would represent the real thing from which the Old Testament ark was a copy. We are not told any specifics about this ark. But since the Old Testament ark was a copy, we can imagine what it might feature.

The term His covenant would refer to the covenant Jesus inaugurated with His own blood. Hebrews 9:15 asserts that Jesus is the mediator of a “new covenant.” The “new covenant” is a covenant in His blood (Matthew 26:28). The Old Testament covenant included a “mercy seat” upon which blood was sprinkled each year to atone for the sins of the people (Leviticus 16:15-16). In the “new covenant” of Jesus, all who believe are redeemed, once for all time, through the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 9:24-25).

Since the inauguration of God’s kingdom was proclaimed in Revelation 11:15-16, perhaps this appearance of the ark of His covenant reflects actions put in motion that will culminate in God dwelling among humans upon a new earth. In Revelation 21:3, we are told that in the new earth the “tabernacle of God” will dwell upon the earth among men.

“Tabernacle” means “dwelling place.” The Old Testament tabernacle was a portable structure that was relocated as the people moved. Later, Solomon built a temple that was a permanent structure with the same basic design. The ark of the covenant was moved into the Holy of Holies within the temple.

We might take from this that at the current time God is dwelling in heaven, where we are physically separated from His glory, in the future we will be fully present with Him and fully experience His glory. His covenant will be completely fulfilled. Humans will again reign upon the earth in harmony with God and nature, restoring God’s original design (Revelation 5:10, 22:5).

Those who overcome will reign with Christ (Revelation 3:23). For the suffering of death, Jesus was crowned with the glory and honor of having the right to reign (Hebrews 2:9-10). Jesus gained the reward of being “Son” over all things because of His obedience on Earth (Hebrews 1:5, Matthew 28:18). Believers who choose the mindset Jesus chose and live as faithful witnesses will also be sons with whom Jesus shares His glory (Philippians 2:5-10, Hebrews 2:10).

Upon the appearance of the ark of His covenant, there seems to be a great cosmic disturbance. John records hearing flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. Perhaps these things are all emanating from the throne room of God, indicating a looming disturbance upon the earth. Or perhaps John’s perspective shifted back to earth. Or perhaps there is a cosmic disturbance in heaven that John is describing using experiences from earth. We are not given a specific explanation. However, it would seem this cosmic disturbance is a prelude to a great vision John will now see in the next chapter.