I. The Seventh Trumpet (11:15-19)
I. THE SEVENTH TRUMPET (11:15-19)
When the seventh seal was opened we expected the climactic judgment. Instead there was half an hour of silence in heaven, out of which came the seven trumpets. Now as the trumpets reach their climax we are still kept in suspense. There is a difference in that this time there are ‘loud voices’ instead of silence. But we do not reach the final judgment or anything like it. Instead we have a chorus of heavenly voices praising God. The voices announce the climax, but John does not say that it actually took place. In fact just as the seven seals led into the seven trumpets so the trumpets lead into the next series of visions. Once again John has brought us to the verge of final judgment and once again he breaks off to unfold further teaching in a new series of visions.
15. There has been quite a long interval since the sixth angel blew his trumpet (9:13). Now the seventh angel sounded. This evoked not some sore judgment, but loud voices in heaven. As often, these speakers are not identified, but plainly they are the heavenly host (cf. 12:10; 18:4; 19:1). They proclaim the replacement of the kingdom of the world by that of our Lord, and of his Christ (cf. Ps. 2:2). NEB brings out the force of the singular with ‘The sovereignty of the world’; secular power is seen as a unit and perhaps the beast is held to have established universal dominion. God has always been sovereign and has worked out his plan. But now the rebellion of evil is finally crushed. In the New Testament as a whole Lord usually refers to Christ, but in Revelation it is more often used of the Father (see note on 1:8). The choice of language here may be affected by the fact that the words represent the homage of people at large rather than of the church. For those who see no need of redemption ‘the Lord’ is God the Father, while the Lord of the church is ’the Lord’s Christ’ (so Swete). The past tense shows that the event is certain; it is as good as having already occurred. Moreover this is no temporary affair. God will reign for ever and ever.
16. The twenty-four elders were last mentioned between the sixth and seventh seals (7:11). Now at the proclamation of the establishment of the kingdom they prostrate themselves in worship.
17. The elders utter a thanksgiving to God whom they characterize in terms of his power and eternity. For Almighty see on 1:8, and for who is and who was on 1:4. There is no ‘who is to come’ this time for the coming is now present; this is the time of consummation. A variation in the tenses of the Greek verbs may be significant. You have taken is perfect tense which seems to mean that God has taken the power permanently. This understanding is all the more likely in that the following verbs are all aorist, so that this one perfect stands out. Have begun to reign will point to the crisis. God has decisively dethroned evil and has entered on his reign.
18. The nations were angry (cf. Pss. 2:1; 98:1, LXX), and God was angry too (NIV with were angry and your wrath obscures the fact that the two expressions are from the same word group). The punishment fits the crime. God’s wrath is not irrational, but the fitting response to the conduct of the nations. Time has about it the air of ‘the right time’. Judgment does not take place until the time is ripe. God will requite both good and bad. Rewarding means ‘to give what is due’ (misthos); there is recognition of merit. There are three groups, the prophets, your saints, and those who reverence your name (though the third could sum up and explain the first two); the effect is to make the expression comprehensive. Small and great is a common expression in this book (13:16; 19:5; 20:12). That God will ’destroy those who destroy’ means once more that the punishment fits the crime. There is nothing arbitrary about the judgments of God (cf. 1 Cor. 3:17).
19. God’s ‘sanctuary’ (naos) was now opened and the ark of his covenant revealed. In the Old Testament the ark was the very symbol of God’s presence. It is not known what became of it after Josiah told the Levites to put it in the temple (2 Ch. 35:3). Jeremiah looked for a time when the people would know God so intimately that they would not miss the ark (Je. 3:15-17). In view of this attitude it is all the more curious that a legend grew up that Jeremiah hid the ark (together with the tabernacle and the altar of incense) in a place which no-one can find ’until God gathers his people together again’ (2 Macc. 2:4-8). But the legend is evidence of an interest in the ark which we see also in the present passage. Here, however, it is not the earthly ark but its heavenly prototype. Its disclosure, taken with the opening of the sanctuary, will show that the way into God’s presence is open wide (cf. Heb. 10:19). In the earthly sanctuary the curtain permanently screened off the ark, thus making it clear that people had no rights of access (cf. Heb. 9:8). But Christ in his work for us has changed all that and now the way is wide open.
The reference to the covenant is also important. The covenant is eternal. God has worked out his purpose throughout history and now at the climax the symbol of his covenant faithfulness is publicly disclosed. This is a tremendous moment. Not surprisingly it is the occasion for unusual phenomena, flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm (see on 4:5, though the phenomena here are fuller).