Good evening and welcome to EBible Fellowship's Bible study in the Book of Revelation. Tonight is study #32 of Revelation, chapter 11, and we are continuing to read Revelation 11:15-17:
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
I will stop reading there. Last time we were reading in verse 15: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ.” We saw that the Lord has given us an historical parable using the seventy-year period from 609 B.C. to 539 B.C. when Judah was under the dominion of Babylon. Then in 539 B.C. the Medes and the Persians, under King Darius, took Babylon. Darius is also known as Cyrus and God identifies Cyrus as his “anointed one,” the Messiah, and this pictures Christ coming at the end of the Great Tribulation – precisely and immediately at the end of the Great Tribulation, just as the Medes and the Persians came against Babylon right after the seventy years to take the kingdom. All that had belonged to the king of Babylon now belonged to Cyrus, the king of the Medes and the Persians.
We saw in 2Chronicles, chapter 36, that this statement was made in 2Chronicles 36:23:
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath JEHOVAH God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem…
It is true, spiritually, that at the end of the Great Tribulation, all the kingdoms of the earth which were under the power of Satan were given to the Lord Jesus Christ. Here, we can understand that Cyrus is speaking of all known kingdoms. The Medes and the Persians ruled over a great empire and Babylon had a great empire and when they defeated Babylon, all that belonged to Babylon now came under the rule of the Medes and the Persians. Certainly, it would have been an incredible empire that they ruled over, so Cyrus said, “All the kingdoms of the earth hath JEHOVAH God of heaven given me.” This is a picture of what God did with the world on May 21, 2011, because that ended the Great Tribulation and it ended Satan’s period of dominion given to him by God. It was allowed for him to rule as the beast for a figurative “forty and two months,” and no longer – not a single day more. After 8,400 days came the judgment upon Babylon and upon Satan. God’s judgment upon Satan was to strip him of all official rule and to turn that rule over to the Lord Jesus Christ.
We also saw in our last study how Haman is a type and figure of Satan and he was given much authority and rule under King Ahasuerus and then came the day of 2/17 (which matches the date the flood began and the day Judgment Day began on May 21, 2011) and Haman lost everything; first, he was humbled because he had to lead a horse upon which Mordecai was seated through the streets, crying, “Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honour.” It was a humiliating experience for Haman and we can see the assault on the pride of Satan on May 21, 2011. Satan thought he was so great and he was the one ruling in the churches as the man of sin. Then God turned it all around in a single day and the Lord Jesus Christ was lifted up and exalted and Satan was put down low. Later Haman was hanged on that same date of 2/17, after not faring well at Esther’s banquet of wine. We read in Esther 7:10:
So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then was the king's wrath pacified.
Then it says in Esther 8:1-2:
On that day did the king Ahasuerus give the house of Haman the Jews' enemy unto Esther the queen. And Mordecai came before the king; for Esther had told what he was unto her. And the king took off his ring, which he had taken from Haman, and gave it unto Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
Mordecai now ruled over everything Haman had ruled over, just as Cyrus ruled over everything the king of Babylon had ruled over, and just as the Lord Jesus Christ rules over everything Satan had ruled over – all the kingdoms of this world. Christ’s rule began at the end of the Great Tribulation and has continued throughout this period of time in “these days after that tribulation.”
Now I can just see someone shaking his head and saying, “Come on now! Are you saying Satan is defeated and put down and that Christ is ruling?” Yes, but we have to keep in mind how this worked out in the Book of Esther. God allowed Haman to have ten sons that were not killed on that date of 2/17 (which agrees with the date of May 21, 2011), but Haman’s ten sons continued to live for several months longer, although they had lost all dominion. But those ten sons also represent Satan, just as we read that the beast, in Revelation 13:1, had “seven heads and ten horns.” It is like those ten sons. By having Haman killed and allowing his sons to live for months longer, God is telling us, “On May 21, 2011, I will destroy the power of Satan and take away his dominion, but he himself will continue to exist until the final day of the Day of Judgment. At the end of the prolonged period of judgment, he will be destroyed.”
As a matter of fact, the Lord tells us this in Daniel, chapter 7, where we read of God as He is clearly sitting in judgment, and it says in Daniel 7:10:
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
This agrees with the language we find in Revelation 20. Then it goes on to say in Daniel 7:11:
I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. That settles it, right? That gets rid of Satan, the beast, does it not? It is all over with now. The beast was slain and his body destroyed. Oh, but not so quick. We read in Daniel 7:12:
As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
Do you see how perfectly this matches with what happened in the Book of Esther? Haman (the beast) is killed and, yet, the ten sons of Haman continue to live for a time. So, here, we read the beast is slain, his body destroyed and given to the burning flame, but then it says, “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.” Again, the ten sons of Haman are also a picture of Satan and, certainly, they lost their dominion – their dominion was of their father’s power. When their father lost all his power and rule, so did the ten sons. Yet, their lives were prolonged; they were not killed along with their father, but were killed some time later. The same thing happened, spiritually, when Satan was deposed and put down and lost all official rule over the churches, the world and all the kingdoms of the earth. All that dominion and power and rule was turned over to the Lord Jesus Christ and, yet, there remains “the rest of the beasts;” that is, Satan still exists, typified by these beasts. They had their dominion taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and time, which is very possibly 1,600 days. Then on the 1,600th day Satan and his forces will all be destroyed.
Then we read in Daniel 7:13:
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
We can see how perfectly this language identifies with what we read in Revelation 11:15. The “Son of man” is given “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him,” and it is an eternal, everlasting dominion because never again will Satan usurp the rule like he did back in the Garden of Eden. Satan is not going to deceive Christ as he deceived mankind. Satan is finished and never again will the Lord Jesus Christ relinquish that dominion and authority to another. So it is an eternal dominion, even though at some point soon He will destroy this world and the entire creation. Yet, His power and authority remain with Him even after the destruction of this earth.
Let us go back to Revelation 11:15:
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Jesus Christ is presently reigning and this is an eternal reign. He will reign into eternity future, but He is now ruling and reigning over everything that Satan had ruled over – He is ruling over the churches and He is ruling over the world. “Really,” someone might say, “then why is this world so wicked and even more wicked than it was before? Why are the churches still fallen away? Why does the present rule of Christ not drastically change things in this world?” It is because Jesus is ruling, but not as a “benevolent ruler” and not as a king that delights to bestow wonderful and good things upon his subjects. The rule that Christ has is a rule that is taking place during the Day of Judgment. In Revelation, chapter 19, a chapter where Judgment Day is in view, we read in Revelation 19:11-15:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Here, we can see God is joining together some ideas:
1) The sharp sword that goes out of Christ’s mouth in the Day of Judgment is the Word of God and with it He is smiting the nations.
This, of course, relates to the information that we, the people of God, have been learning from the Bible during this time period after that tribulation, as God has opened up additional understanding from His Word. He has hidden certain things that could not have been known before we entered into Judgment Day. And now that we are in the Day of Judgment, these things are coming to light. It is the “revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” The Bible is opening up information that reveals that the wrath of God is upon the inhabitants of the world; God is punishing each unsaved person and he is doing so, spiritually, by shutting the door of heaven. God is declaring these things through His Word and this is how the Word of God is smiting the nations.
2) He shall rule them (the nations) with a rod of iron.
Notice the context here. Read Revelation 19 and you will see that the “bride has made herself ready.” All the elect have been found and they have come together as the “bride of Christ.” It is the marriage supper of the Lamb in Judgment Day. This is the time that God says that Jesus is ruling the wicked of the world with a “rod of iron.” This fits in exactly with our understanding of what took place on May 21, 2011. It was a day when Satan’s rule was finished. No longer does he rule the world. At this point, Christ rules and since He is ruling with a “rod of iron,” it is His purpose to smite the nations and all the people that did not bow the knee to Him. These were rebels. They were not His children. They never became saved and their sins were exposed to His sight and, therefore, He is coming down in fury and anger upon them during this period. He is a ruler who is destroying the ones He is ruling over and this is why the world has not gotten better. It was not God’s plan or purpose for the world to get better at this time; it actually serves the will of God to allow the churches, for example, to go further and further away from truth and to allow the world to stray from all decency and morality, in their blindness to discern what is right and what is wrong, what is good and what is evil and what is truth and what is a lie. The world is stumbling around in darkness and the earth is dark because God has taken away the light of the Gospel. God is causing man to become even “blinder,” if we can say such a thing. The unsaved have been “blind” all through history, but God had restrained certain things in their lives, but now the hand of God’s restraint has been lifted and it gives the appearance of greater blindness.
This is what this verse is telling us: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.” Now why does God put it this way: “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ”? Normally, Jesus is the one who is called “Lord” in the New Testament, but it seems that here it is God the Father who is first in view and then it says, “his Christ,” or the Messiah, the Son of God. This is interesting how this is put, indicating the equal supremacy and the equal reign of the Person of God, as He reveals Himself as One God, yet three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then it says, “And he shall reign for ever and ever.” It is an eternal reign which the Lord Jesus Christ is involved with, as King of kings and Lord of lords. It is just a glorious fact that our King will not die. Our King will never lose His kingdom. Our King will never be overturned, as you read of so many kings in the Bible, when those that plotted against them (even their own sons) would rise up and slay the king. Then another man would become king and that man was even more wicked and evil than the one before him, so there was never any security for those that served an earthly king. Even when there was a good king, like Josiah or like David, there was never any real security because, eventually, that king would die and the rule would change from the good king to the next king. Who knew what that next king would be like, or whether he would be wise or a fool (as God moved Solomon to write). Yet, this is not the case with the servants and citizens of the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ, the King we serve, is an eternal King who reigns for ever and ever. Is it not wonderful?
Sometimes you get that good feeling when you are reading a story of a good king in the Bible and you find some of the king’s servants or prophets just love that king and they love doing service for that king. They are so glad they have a good and honorable king to serve and that is how it will be with each child of God. What a wonderful and glorious honor it will be for us to be in the kingdom – not the kingdom of King Arthur or other good earthly kings – but of the King of kings and the Great King above all kings. He is perfectly good and holy and pure and righteous. Every decision He makes from His throne and every decree the King wills to be done is one we can trust 100% to be a good and a wise decision. Looking at it from that perspective of an eternal kingdom that is ruled by an eternal King, it is just mind-boggling how glorious and beautiful it will be for God’s elect to live in this wonderful condition and state for evermore.