When the seventh trumpet sounds, John hears loud voices in heaven declaring the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of the Lord and his Messiah (Christ), and the Lord’s messiah will “forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15 states the kingdom “has come.” Aune says this aorist middle verb (ἐγγένετο, from γίνομαι) functions like a prophetic perfect. The verb “has come” is referring to something that has not happened yet but is so certain it can be spoken of as if it had already happened (Aune 2:638). Wallace would call this a proleptic aorist (GGBB 563). As an analogy, your mother announces, “it is time to eat thanksgiving dinner,” but there are several things that happen before you are sitting at the table eating the meal.
This kingdom belongs to “our Lord and of his Christ.” This is a clear statement the real Lord of this world is God, not any human who claims to be lord of this world. This anticipates the increasingly anti-Roman rhetoric beginning with the two beasts in Revelation 13 and culminating in the great whore of Babylon.
The messiah will rule the Lord’s kingdom. Although the word Χριστός is usually translated Christ, it is important to remember the word translates the Hebrew word usually translated messiah or “anointed one.” For example, in the Septuagint, the Lord’s anointed in Psalm 2:2 is מָשִׁיחַ , (māšîaḥ) is translated as Χριστός, a text applied to Jesus in Acts 4:26). This anointed one may be the king of Israel (David, 2 Sam 22:51) or some person chosen by God for a task (Cyrus the Persian, Isaiah 45:1). By the Second Temple Period, the messiah/Christ was used for the coming representative of God who would restore Israel. For example, Psalm of Solomon 18:6, “May God cleanse Israel for the day of mercy with blessing, for the day of election ⌊when he brings up⌋ his anointed one (LES2). In the Odes of Solomon 29:6-11, the writer believes in the “Lord’s Messiah” and considered him to be the Lord. This messiah will “subdue the thoughts of the gentiles and humble the strength of the mighty.”
This messiah will rule forever (εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων). This is likely an allusion to Daniel 7:14, but the idea God’s kingdom will never end is found elsewhere (Ps 146:10). In the Second Temple period book the Wisdom of Solomon, the righteous will “govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them forever” (3:8, NRSV). In Joseph and Asenath “the Lord God will reign as king over them for ever and ever” (19:8).
The jubilation of the seventh trumpet stands in contrast to the seventh seal, silence in heaven for about a half hour. I suggested in an earlier post this silence is a form of worship, so the silence of the seventh seal answered by the noisy worship of the twenty-four elders. The seventh seal, trumpet and bowl each refer to the coming of the messiah, the defeat of the kingdom of man, and the beginning of the Kingdom of God.
This is a beautiful image of what some believe is yet to come. Johnson explains in the ESV that many futurists and idealist see this trumpet as “heralding the second coming of Christ”, and I believe that is true. (p. 2479) I just don’t believe that it has happened yet. I like how there is a contrast to the silence like you wrote about earlier. I think that makes it more likely that the silence was as written to show worship and prayer, and now we can witness the celebration that followed. I think one extremely powerful part of this section in Revelation is described by Johnson when he writes note for verse 11:19, Johnson describes John finally being able to look upon the ark of the covenant and peers into the “Most Holy Place Itself”. This is powerful to me because it gives hope that there will come a time when there is no separation between us and God. There will be no place that is too Holy for us to enter. That gives me something to look forward to. Another powerful part is also described by Johnson in the notes on 11:19-14:20 as he describes Satan’s defeat and that the cross, and believers suffering are painful but are just proof of the “dragon desperation” since he ‘knows that his time is short’. (ESV. p.2479) I think that is a great way to explain that the battle is already won.
The seventh trumpet is a lot more interesting than the seventh seal and does live up to expectations. It is very interesting how much the seventh trumpet contrasts with the seventh seal. The seventh seal is simply silence, while the seventh trumpet is a loud proclamation of worship (Rev. 8:1, 11:15). This scene will be one of the most joyous scenes witnessed by anyone. The worship, because God’s kingdom was established, will be beautiful (Rev. 11:15). Within our own culture Christians have a desire for God to come and reign on earth because of how corrupt our own leaders are. We have been disappointed and angry with how our leaders have led this country and their opposition to Christ. While we have these feelings and desires for Christ to come and establish his kingdom, imagine what that desire would have been like for those living when Revelation was written. The persecution and idolatry from the Roman Empire that was experienced by those living during that time compares to nothing we have experienced. Their desire for Christ to establish his kingdom would have been far greater than our desire. Within the twenty-four elder’s song of worship there is a mention of reward for the saints of God (Rev. 11:18). Imagine how much more meaningful this promise of reward would have been for those undergoing persecution. It is important we wait for God’s time when he establishes his kingdom and endure through that, rather then look for signs or try to do anything that we think will cause his kingdom to come sooner. It is interesting that “The end is authorized by the seventh angel’s trumpet blast (11:15), not the direct actions of the witnesses…” (Allen, 2019, p. 106). This tells me that it is all within God’s time, and we must live for him until that time comes.
The passage of Revelation 11:15 is super interesting. The fact that they used the proleptic language was cool. It’s crazy to think about how the verb ἐγγένετο (ἐγγίνομαι), translated as “has come,” can convey a future event with such certainty. The discussion about the kingdom “has come” as a proleptic statement made me think about the assurance and the absolute certainty of God’s promises. It’s saying that is so certain to happen that it’s as good as done, even though it hasn’t happened yet. I hear this a lot in worship songs that say, “The battle is already won”. I think having this type of insight into the language used in Revelation opens up new perspectives on the unfolding of God’s plan. It’s not a coincidence that the prophecies in the Old Testament for messianic expectations and the eternal reign of Christ line up so well with the prophecies in Revelation. Not in the fact that they talk about the same thing, but that they have the same type of tone and purpose when they are said or written down. It shows how interconnected biblical prophecy is across different books and time periods.
When looking at the seventh trumpet I have always been someone that tries imagine what exactly these events looked like or our going to look like, so when it comes to the seventh trumpet and it being the opposite of the seventh seal which was complete silence and this being a loud and noisy proclamation of the kingdom of God being established is something that I always think of when we look at end time imagery. For me the establishment of the Kingdom of God with the seventh trumpet and the elders is the type of thing that I think of is going to happen to us when we reach heaven.
The seventh trumpet carries interesting connotations due to its stark contrast with the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1-6) which signals the complete silence of woes on earth. Instead, the theme has now shifted to worship in heaven. According to Johnson (2008), “Nearly all futurists and many idealists see this trumpet as heralding the second coming of Christ. . . Songs from the future consummation speak back through time to the suffering church, announcing the day when the world’s kingdom has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ” (p. 2479). Long (2020) describes, “This is a clear statement the real Lord of this world is God, not any human who claims to be lord of this world. This anticipates the increasingly anti-Roman rhetoric beginning with the two beasts in Revelation 13 and culminating in the great whore of Babylon.” Here, God portrays judgments sent from heaven while restraining His wrath, giving foretastes of total devastation to come should rebels ignore His warnings (Johnson, 2008, p. 2475). This effectively reverses the description in Psalm 2:1-2 (ESV) that the nations and their rulers still rage “against the Lord and against his Anointed.” The trumpet, in connection with Old Testament instruments, is a fascinating vessel with significant theology behind it. Numbers 23:21 states that the trumpet blows find interpretation in the war signal of a kingly army led by God, the one true monarch. Such a declaration would bolster an army to battle or perhaps signal a coronation, reflected in Revelation 12:19’s reading that “God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.” In addition, Numbers 23:24 evidences the trumpet signal, reminding the Israelites of the Deliverer’s presence among them (Walton et al., 2015). John Walton (2015) also notes, “This is ten days before the Day of Purgation (Atonement),” meaning the short blasts also call upon the Israelites’ responsibility to repent and reform themselves in humbling self-denial before the Lord. In much the same way, every knee will bow and every individual, dead or alive, will be judged. Servants shall be rewarded (Rev 21:1-7) and destroyers of the earth will accordingly be destroyed (Rev 20:14-15).
Just as much as noisy worship is an indication of jubilation for the Lord, silence resembles a contemplative reflection on Him. Long (2020) suggests, “Silence is a form of worship, so the silence of the seventh seal is answered by the noisy worship of the twenty-four elders. The seventh seal, trumpet, and bowl each refer to the coming of the Messiah, the defeat of the kingdom of man, and the beginning of the Kingdom of God.” The coronation is not simply for another human king as extrapolated in Old Testament histories but rather signals the reign of the supreme Messiah, the one who is predetermined to win over death and evil.