Commentaries:
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Revelation 11:15-18
This last - seventh - trumpet announces the coming of Christ, the establishment of God's Kingdom, the judgment upon the nations, and the rewarding of the saints. They occur simultaneously!
The last trumpet sounds when Christ returns, not 3½ years before! If we compare verses 11-13 (the resurrection of the Two Witnesses) with verse 19, the "great earthquake" ties the resurrection of the saints with the beginning of the Kingdom (see also Revelation 16:18). In addition, an angel tells John in Revelation 10:7 that when "the seventh angel . . . is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished." There will be no more mystery about man becoming God when the saints are resurrected or changed to eternal spirit beings!
Matthew 24:30-31 also verifies this scenario, showing that the trumpet sounds to send the angels to gather the elect from all over the earth to meet Him upon His return. To clinch the argument, verse 29 very plainly says, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days. . ."! Isaiah 27:12-13, Joel 2:1-11 and Zechariah 14:3-5, 9 also confirm these events.
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Caught Up in the RaptureRelated Topics: Feast of Trumpets | God's Judgment | God's Justice | God's Kingdom | God's Wrath | Jesus Christ's Return | Jesus Christ's Second Coming | Judgment | Judgment, God's | Judgments | Kingdom of God | Kingdom of God, Established on Earth | Last Trumpet | Rapture | Resurrection, First | Return of Jesus Christ | Second Coming of Christ | Spirit Beings | Spiritual Body | Trumpets, The Seventh | Two Witnesses
Revelation 11:1-19
All the inset chapters are introduced in a significant way: by an angel coming down from heaven or a spectacular and unusual vision of someone or something, such as a woman clothed with the sun, moon, and stars or a Beast rising up out of the ocean.
Chapter 11, however, does not begin this way because it is not the beginning of the inset. The inset actually begins in Revelation 10:1 where the spectacular vision occurs. Chapter 10 does not follow chapter 9 in time sequence anymore than the material in chapter 11 does. Chapter 11 merely continues the vision begun in chapter 10.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean Church
Revelation 11:1-19
Revelation 11 is inset material. The only possible period of time when the Two Witnesses could testify is during the three and a half years that precede Christ's return—the time of the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord.
Most of this period of time has already been covered by chapters 6 (the fifth and sixth seals) and 8-9 (the trumpet plagues). Chapter 11 clarifies what has already occurred in the narrative, answering how people can possibly be converted during the Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. The answer is that they are hearing a message thundered by the Two Witnesses! Revelation 7:9-17 suggests that by their preaching, an innumerable multitude will be converted.
The information is given in a digression—an inset chapter— from the main story flow. Inset chapters clarify what is happening within the time sequence.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Revelation 10 and the Laodicean ChurchRelated Topics: Day of the Lord | Innumerable Multitude | Inset Chapters | Tribulation | Two Witnesses | Years, Three and a HalfOther Forerunner Commentary entries containing Revelation 11:15:
Habakkuk 2:3
Matthew 6:13
Mark 1:14-15
1 Corinthians 15:50-52
Revelation 6:10
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What Does Revelation 11:15 Mean?
The sounding of the seventh trumpet, as described in Revelation 11:15, heralds the moment when the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, who shall reign forever. This trumpet announces Christ's return, the establishment of God's Kingdom, the judgment of nations, and the rewarding of the saints, all occurring simultaneously. It marks the end of mystery, as man becomes eternal spirit beings through resurrection or change. The great earthquake links the resurrection of the saints with the Kingdom's beginning. This event, occurring immediately after the tribulation, signifies the time when Christ, born to be King, subdues all worldly kingdoms.