In John’s vision, with the second woe having passed, the third woe is hard on its heels:
“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’” (Rev 11:15).
Imagine standing in Washington, DC or London or Paris or any nation’s capital around the world and hearing an ear-splitting trumpet blast straight from above, blown by beings you cannot see, and then hearing clearly that your kingdom in the world, your country and all others, has now become the kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ! Would there be panic or cheering? Yes. Both. We clearly live at present, whether we like it or not, in the Kingdom of the World, which for now is completely and godlessly different than the kingdom of God and Jesus. But we have the free choice of living here in perfect unity with Jesus or disunity from God.
Meanwhile, the Apostle John in his vision inside God’s throne room, sees quite clearly the source of this stunning declaration:
“And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God … ” (Rev 11:16).
The elders in God’s throne room declare for all to hear:
“ … saying, …
“’We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth’” (Rev 11:17-18).
While the announcement of the kingdom of God and Jesus is spectacularly good news to those gathered in the throne room of God, its echo down to earth comes with great foreboding to all unbelievers and rulers of nations, but with overwhelming joy to even the least of those who know Jesus and are in perfect unity with him!
It is to all people that God’s temple in heaven is opened at this point for all to see, but what believers feel is quite different than the condemned:
“Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and heavy hail” (Rev 11:19).
To one in unity with God, this is a marvelous demonstration of God’s power for good;, but to those about to be judged, it is terrifying, as the third woe begins. What follows in Chapter 12 is truly catastrophic.
For now, if you fear the name of Jesus in a good way, prepare to be rewarded, no matter how insignificant you may feel. Your time is coming and has already come through the salvation paid for by Jesus – for the forgiveness of all your sins!
Hurry back and be on the watch for the third woe wrought by the seventh trumpet!