He Shall Reign Forever

Day 354: Revelation 11:1-19

“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 Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’” - ‭Revelation‬ ‭11:15‬ ‭ESV‬‬

The big question of Revelation 11 is, “Who are the two witnesses.” We don’t really know. Moses and Elijah? Joshua and Zerubbabel? Maybe a touch of all four?

We do know that a lot of the language used to describe these two witnesses is the same that was used earlier in Revelation in describing the church, especially the martyrs (the same Greek word for witness—martys). So these two could very well represent the church. Deuteronomy 19:15 shows that the law required a testimony to be confirmed by two or three witnesses.

Regardless, as we come to verse 15, we get yet another angle on what the return of Jesus will be like.

Heaven and earth will become permanently merged.

Christians, for almost two thousand years, have prayed the Lord’s Prayer, which was taught by Jesus. The seventh trumpet being blown is a fulfillment of that prayer:  “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

When Jesus returns, all wrongs will be made right. There is something deep inside all of us that groans and longs for this to take place.

"This statement, which inspired the great 'Hallelujah Chorus' of Handel’s 'Messiah,' offers one of the best definitions of the consummated kingdom of God in Revelation. All worldly authorities must step aside as God and his Christ mount the throne, bringing everything in the universe under their sovereign will." - Davis, C. A. (2000). Revelation (p. 243)