Revelation 11:15-18 – The Kingdom of God and the Christ

BIBLE TEXT

Revelation 11:15-18

SUMMARY

The sounding of the seventh trumpet heralds God’s kingdom and the destruction of whatever would threaten the earth.

ANALYSIS

The plagues that fall on the earth as each of the first six trumpets are blown do not move the peoples of the world to repent (9:20-21). Therefore, an angel interrupts the movement toward destruction in Revelation 10 and commands John to prophesy again. In Revelation 11:1-12, God’s two witnesses call the world to repent, and they are killed and raised. After this, however, many people begin to fear and glorify God (11:13). Only when this occurs does the seventh trumpet sound and the heavenly voices announce that the world has become the kingdom of God and Christ (11:15). Repentance rather than destruction is God’s desire. Moreover, God is the Creator and therefore opposes the powers that seek to ruin the creation. God’s kingdom means the destruction of those forces that would destroy the world God made (11:18).