The end of that hymn speaks of the consummation of the kingdom when earth and heaven are one. And you can find that concept in the Bible in several places, but absolutely in Revelation chapter 11. So we'll see if we don't get that far through the chapter today. Let me pray, and I'm going to give a little bit of a recap of chapter 10, and then we'll jump into chapter 11. Our Father and our God, we pause before we read your word and study your word to ask your blessing on your word. And Lord, your word is true, it's mighty, it's powerful. But Lord, we are weak and we're impacted by sin. We don't fully comprehend and understand. So Lord, we're going to ask for your help. that you'd help us to have minds that can receive and understand your word, hearts that can embrace your word. And Lord, we ask you to help us for your glory's sake and also for our good. In Jesus' name, Amen. So chapter 10 recap. We are in chapter 10 and 11 in the interim between the sixth and the seventh trumpet in the book of Revelation. And I will admit to you, I have studied this book many, many times, and I still find it a difficult book. If somebody says, oh, no, no, this is not a difficult book, I'd really question that brother or sister. So in chapter 10, we saw the angel that descends from heaven. And John, who's been given a vision in heaven, is now on earth watching what takes place as the angel descends. The angel lands where the land meets the sea. One foot in the sea, one foot on the land. And then John hears seven thunders. And the message that the thunders convey, I believe that's the voice of Jesus Christ. And I use Psalm 29 as my support for that. John's told he's not allowed to record it. So he doesn't record it. He's not to write it down. There should be no delay any longer, the angel tells us. And then John's told to go to the angel who has a small book, and John devours the book. And when he devours the book, it's as sweet as honey in his mouth. The Word of God is always sweet, but it's bitter in his stomach, because the Word of God brings conviction. And then John's given the command to go and to prophesy. And so we see now John not just simply seeing a vision and hearing things, he's involved in what's going on in the book of Revelation. So now we move to chapter 11. We're still in this interim between the 6th trumpet and the 7th trumpet. And we'll begin in verse 1. Let me just read verse 1. Oh, can somebody close that back door? The wind's catching up. Thank you. So we'll just read verses 1 and 2. Then I was given a reed, like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it. For it has been given to the Gentiles, and they will tread the holy city underfoot, for 42 months. So here we have the measuring of the temple. And as I've been doing, I'm going to give you several ways to possibly interpret this chapter. And I'll do that with the measuring of the temple. Some commentators, some see this literally, that this is literally the temple, maybe those that think that this book of Revelation has an earlier writing date. Some see it written before the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, and they would say, well, this is the temple that stood. It's before the destruction. I actually hold to a different view. I think the book is written more towards 90 AD, which would be after the destruction of the temple. There's others that take a literal view of this, that the temple, before Jesus returns, will be rebuilt. And we used to attend a church and the pastor held that view. He was always talking about the wars going on and maybe a missile would hit the dome of the mosque and it would be wiped out so somebody could rebuild the temple where the temple used to be. I don't particularly, myself, hold that view, but that's a view. There's a prophetic view. Some see it as symbolic of the Jewish believers of that day. And then there's another figurative view that the temple itself here is representing the church at worship. And I will tell you that's more or less where I go in my view of what's being conveyed here. I'll give you two scriptures to support that view. I don't hold that view dogmatically, but let me give you a couple scriptures. 1 Corinthians 3, 16 and 17 says, Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? And if anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are." God no longer sets his presence in a building temple. I mean, he was never confined there, the Bible tells us that. But he resides with his people, the church, right? We're indwelt by the Spirit of God. A second verse for you, Ephesians 2, Beginning in verse 19, Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God. Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." The church is seen as the temple of God in the scriptures. So if it's figurative, what's going on here with this measurement? What's that conveying? And if we don't really get the measurements, we don't see how many cubits or the biblical measurements the temple is, but he's told to measure, which makes me think it's symbolic of something, and probably symbolic of God's knowledge and care for his church. Robert Mounts, and I'll quote from his commentary, the temple is the church, the people of God. To measure the temple means to preserve it. God's people are to be protected in the coming catastrophe. You know, talking about the tribulation period. So the temple is always representative of God's presence with his people. And I'll take you back to the Old Testament, where Solomon finishes up his prayer for the temple that's built. And it says in 2 Chronicles 7, beginning in verse 1, When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifice, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house. When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord was on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground and the pavement, and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endures forever." The presence of God with his people. That's what the temple was representing in Israel. The altar, this would not have been, when he's told to measure the altar, it's not the altar of sacrifice, because that was outside the temple in the court. The altar that was inside the temple was the altar of incense. So John's told to measure the temple, I believe that represents the church, he's told to measure the altar, and remember the book of Revelation itself gives us some insight into what that altar was representing. They would burn the incense and the smoke would rise. In Revelation chapter 8, we looked at, in verse 3, it says, "...then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar..." Now he's talking about the altar of incense. "...he was given much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne." Philip Hughes, in his commentary, lends some help with this. He writes, its measuring may be taken to mean that God is in control of all that happens to his servants and is attentive to all their prayers that ascend to him like a sweet aroma. And it's pretty evident from scripture that even if somebody had a different view of this, they'd say, well Larry, that's not exactly what this view is. You have to agree, those things are true. That God is with his people, the people of God are the temple, we're indwelt by the Spirit, and the prayers of the saints. Our prayers count because God, when he's about to do something, sets his saints to prayer. And we pray, and those prayers are lifted up. The Bible speaks of our prayers rising like a sweet incense in the nostrils of God. It's a sweet savor in the nostrils of our Lord. He loves the prayers of the people, and He works through the prayers of the people. So in Revelation 1 and 2, he's told to measure the temple, the altar, and then those who worship there. The worshipers, God's faithful, are being measured here. Remember back in the letter to the churches, in chapter 3 and verse 12, He writes, this is our Lord Jesus, he says, and John writes, "...he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, and I will write on him my new name." And we unpacked that back when we looked at chapter 3. So those are what's being measured. The temple, I believe, is the church. The altar is representative of the prayers of the church. And then the worshipers themselves. God has us in the palm of his hand under his watchful care. Then he mentions the Gentiles are going to tread the holy city. He says, leave the court which is outside the temple. Do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. They'll tread on the holy city underfoot for 42 months. Let's go. So he mentions that which is outside the temple. What is outside the temple? Well, you have the altar of sacrifice. That's not being measured. I think the book of Hebrews lays out pretty clearly that the animal sacrifice has ended. It's not to be restored, in my opinion. The book of Hebrews really makes the point about that, that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice. The book of Hebrews makes it very clear that Jesus is both our high priest in the order of Melchizedek And He is also the sacrifice. He's the one who was offered up on the cross for our sins in His atoning death. The people outside the temple, I would say, in my interpretation, outside of the church, are not measured. They are rejected by God. They're not to be a part of the measurement. These are the profane. These are the enemies of God that are outside of the temple. In 1st John, the letter, 1st John chapter 2 verse 19, John wrote, that they went out from us, but they were not of us. For if they had been of us, They would have continued with us, but they went out, right? Outside of the church. They went outside of the temple, that they might be made manifest that none of them were of us. And he's talking about those who maybe at one time fellowshiped, but now they've apostated themselves. And they're not only outside of the church building, so to speak, but the church itself, the people of God, they've departed. And Revelation 22 helps with that interpretation in verse 15, where it says, but outside, not those that are in and are going to be caught up to glory, but those that are outside are dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and whoever loves and practices a lie. They just live in lies and filth and sin. And this is going to take place for 42 months. You're going to see that language said in many different ways throughout the prophecies of the Old Testament, but also in the Book of Revelation. 42 months. You're going to hear it as three and a half years. You're going to hear it as time, times and a half a time. It all equals three and a half years. Some hold this as a time period leading up to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. I know these are theological terms, but I'll throw it out there real quick. If you are a full preterist, then you believe everything that the Bible says in Revelation has already happened and culminated in the destruction of the temple in 70 AD. There's people that hold that view. Some that this is the last half of a literal seven-year period of tribulation at the end of time. And a lot of people hold that view, that this three and a half years is midpoint of a literal seven-year window of tribulation. If this represents a symbolic time, though, and you can notice that I kind of hold a symbolic view of the book, it is just simply saying it is a limited time. Three and a half, half of seven, seven the number of perfection. It's a limited time. Now let me read you a, it's kind of a difficult, at least for me, a little bit of a difficult quote. And maybe I'll say a few words about it to help it. But this is Simon Keistmaker in his commentary. He writes, the apocalypse makes this period equal to 1,260 days, or time times and a half time, which is three and a half years. The three and a half years comprise the period of the Maccabean War when the temple was desecrated from June 167 to December 164 BC, and you can compare that to the Book of Daniel. Sweet, and he's quoting another commentary here, Henry Barclay Sweet. But he says, Sweet offers the following equation. Quote, the duration of the triumph of the Gentiles equals the duration of the prophesying of the two witnesses equals the duration of the woman's sojourn in the wilderness. That's yet to be read. That's in the Book of Revelation. We haven't got there yet. And he says, in short, these periods showing harmony and duration and extent appear to refer to an interval of undetermined length that extends from Jesus's ascension until his return. And Keismaker holds that sort of a symbolic, figurative view of the Book of Revelation. And what he means is that what's being stated here, that the Tribulation, in his estimation, is the entirety of the Church Age that is being persecuted as we go forth and herald the Gospel, and the unsaved world stands against the things of God, is really what he's pointing to. So that's sort of my view of the book. And now we're going to move on to the two witnesses. So there's three parts, at least in my division, there's three parts to these two witnesses. So I'm going to just read one part at a time. And so we find the introduction of the two witnesses in verses three to six. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, He must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy. And they have power over waters to turn them to blood and to strike the earth with all plagues as often as they desire." Well, who are these two witnesses? Would you be surprised if I told you there's a lot of opinions, differing opinions on who these two witnesses are? Some say that this is Enoch and Elijah. Why would people think that perhaps this is Enoch and Elijah? Because Enoch walked with God and was translated into heaven. He didn't taste death. Elijah was carried up to glory in a flaming chariot. He didn't taste death. And some think that, well, God must have been preserving these two, that they would return towards the return of Christ, that they could be these two witnesses that we read about in the book of Revelation. Some are convinced that this is Moses and Elijah. Why? Why would they think that? Well, because the power that they yield and wield and perform are similar to those things which Elijah and Moses did, that really God did through Elijah and Moses. The shutting up of heaven so it didn't rain, Elijah. The turning the water to blood and the various plagues of Moses, you know, God bringing the plagues upon Egypt. The Bible says that they are two olive trees and mentions that they're two lampstands. If you're a student of the Old Testament at all, and this is another difficult book, very difficult book, but if you go back to the book of Zechariah, let me just read it and then I'll talk about Zechariah a little bit. But in Zechariah chapter four, it says this in verse two and three. And he said to me, what do you see? So I said, I am looking and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it. And on the stand, seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. Two olive trees are by it, one at the right of the bowl and the other at its left. And I didn't do this in my study yesterday, but years ago when I was teaching through the book of Zechariah, if you do a Google search for that scene, you'll get all these artists' renditions of what that looks like. And it helps me. I'm a visual learner, so it helps me a little bit to see those pictures. And then in Zechariah 4 and jump down to verse 13, it says, then he answered me and said, do you not know who these are? That's a good question. And I said, no, my Lord. He doesn't know who they are. So he said, these are the two anointed ones. I emphasize the word anointed for a reason. These are the two anointed ones who stand beside the Lord of the whole earth. In the book of Zechariah, he's referring to these two men, Joshua, who's the high priest, and Zerubbabel, who is the governor. And God is filling them with his spirit. And the picture of the two olive trees are a picture of the unlimited supply of the olive oil, which is representing the spirit of God, that he's convincing and making sure that Zechariah knows and the people are told that God is at work through the high priest and through the and God was going to accomplish His purposes by His Spirit. Not by their power, their might, but by God's Spirit. And what you have in Revelation 11.3-6 with these two witnesses is certainly a picture of the Spirit of God empowering God's witnesses. It's symbolic, if you look at this as symbolic, not two individual human beings, but figuratively speaking, the two witnesses are the church. In that view, it would be a picture of the church that is filled with God's spirit as they carry out the mission of heralding the good news of the gospel, of bringing the word of God to bear against the unbelieving world, if you hold that view. Which, of course, you know I hold that view. Fire from their mouths come out. Are these two individual human beings that have the power of fire-breathing dragons? Is that what we're to imagine here? I don't think so. And I believe that the fire that is breathed out of their mouth is the Word of God. And for support for that, I'll take you to Jeremiah. And this is Jeremiah chapter 5 verse 14, where it says, Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, Because you speak this word, behold, I will make my words in your mouth fire. And the people would, and it shall devour them." It's speaking of the power of the Word of God as if it's fire being breathed onto wood. For people that would reject the Word of God, they wouldn't be destroyed by the witnesses, they'd be destroyed ultimately by their own sin in the judgment. And they prophesy for 1,260 days. As I told you, some would hold that as the witness of the church throughout the whole of the church age, the ascension to the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And they have power. right, to shut up heaven, the power to inflict plagues. If this is the interpretation that this is the church that's filled with the Spirit, that's proclaiming the Word of God faithfully, it's the power of prayer. Elijah had no power in himself. And we'd be good to realize that none of us have any power in ourselves. We serve God who's almighty. He's omnipotent. He has all power. And he chooses to use men and women of his choosing to exercise his power through them. And if you remember that Isaiah had no power to stop rain, but he served the God who did have that power. And James picks that up in the New Testament. And in James chapter 5, verse 16, and we know this verse, but listen to it in this context. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months. Three and a half years. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit. So it could be the interpretation here is that this is a picture of the witness of the church, filled with the spirit, empowered by prayer, through prayer to the powerful God that is. And don't think I don't know the dispensational view. and that we'd have to import Daniel here and speak of a covenant that the Antichrist is making with Israel, national Israel, and that covenant, that agreement, that pact was broke. I know all that. I know that view. I just don't happen to hold that view myself. So then the second part here, the death of these two witnesses in verse 7 to 10, When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth." I was done studying yesterday, and my daughter, my granddaughter, is staying with us. And so I went up to hang out with her, because Karen had to do something. And I thought, well, I'm going to bring up J. Vernon McGee's commentary and just read it. And he's a dispensationalist. We hold a little bit of a different view, but man, he can preach. He's a powerful, strong preacher, and I have no problems with J. Vernon McGee. And he pointed out something that I completely missed. And that's the goodness of having men that have gone before us that have recorded their thoughts on Scripture. They can show us something that we were just blind to. And the thing that he pointed out that I missed was this. When they finished their testimony, when they finished their testimony. And J. Vernon McGee writes in his commentary, these two witnesses, and J. Vernon, by the way, believes that these are two human beings that are witnessing. These two, and he actually believes that one of them is John the Baptist. So there's another view for you. He thinks one is John the Baptist. These two witnesses are immortal and immune to all attacks until their mission is completed. My friend, it is encouraging to know that all of God's men, and if I could, I'd like to insert, and women, all of God's men are immortal until He has accomplished His purposes through them. And then J. Vernon goes on to talk about how he had a weak and feeble faith when he was going through a bout of cancer, because he kept thinking, am I going to die? And wasn't thinking, Lord, I'm invincible until you call me home. And that's a good word. I think it's a really good word. In Jeremiah, chapter 1, verse 12, says, The Lord said to me, You've seen well, for I am ready to perform my word. He's going to use Jeremiah. And in Jeremiah 1.19, to encourage Jeremiah, it says, Oh, they will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you. I think that's great. I read a quote by missionary Henry Martin. And by the way, I read his whole story, an incredible story of somebody that wanted to just go out on fire for the Lord and just poured himself into the ministry that he was called to. And he's quoted as saying, I am immortal. until God's work for me to do is done, the Lord reigns." We have to remember that, brethren and sistren. We need to remember that. That God is in control. He's sovereign. The Lord God omnipotent reigns. So the great city, literally Jerusalem, some hold that view. Figuratively, the vast corrupt world. And by the way, I have no dog in this fight. If you hold a different view than I'm laying forth, I'm OK with that. And I was thinking this yesterday, because this is a difficult book to unpack, but the Word of God speaks for itself. Pastors get up and we try to unpack it and help and we study. But really, if you just pick up the Bible, You know, I love some of the street preacher brothers I know. And when they give out the message, they say, if you're giving your life to Christ through this sermon, through this word, then go home, get a Bible, and start reading it. Just start. I mean, I'm not going to send you to this teacher or that teacher immediately. Just start reading the Bible. You'll find a good Bible teaching church somewhere. But read the Bible, right? Philip Hughes writes, God's people inhabit the holy city, the spiritual Jerusalem of the saints. His enemies live in the great city, not in one particular place, but in the worldwide structure of unbelief and defiance against God. And he mentions this is where the Lord was crucified. And if you remember, the book of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was crucified outside the gate, outside the city walls, and encourages people to go outside where he is, not to return back to the old system of Judaism and temple worship, but to go out and be identified with Jesus Christ, he encourages in Hebrews 13. So what's it mean where the Lord was crucified? Well, like the Lord's death, which was shameful, they are treated, J. Vernon McGee says, they were treated like dead animals. Their corpses are just left there. They aren't even given the dignity of a burial. And that's how the world, the hateful world against the things of God, see and treat the church and the message of God that is proclaimed. They even celebrate. They exchange gifts with one another. Do you remember our Lord Jesus taught, and this is in John 16, 2. One thing I love about the Lord, a lot of things I love about the Lord, is that when I first read the Bible, I just loved how plainly our Lord Jesus would speak to people. And it's like, you know, he just lets it lay where it is. He just lets it be known. He doesn't mince words. And in John 16.2, Jesus says, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. He thinks he's doing God a favor. Remember, Saul thought that before his conversion. He thought he was doing God a service, and then found out he was actually persecuting Jesus Christ himself through his church. It's interesting to me that it says the reason why they're so hateful towards the Witness is because the two prophets tormented those who dwell on earth. Tormented them. Keismaker takes that and says, the message God sent them by way of his envoys, the message he sent to the world, pricked their consciences and denied them peace of mind. The word of God exposed their sins, and they were called to repentance, faith, and a life of service to God. They were told of God's wrath, and of the day of judgment. And beloved, if that's not what we're preaching, what Keismaker sort of encapsulates there, then we're not preaching the full gospel, right? People need to know that there's a judgment coming and that if they stand in their sin, they will be sent to hell eternally. But there is a provision made in Jesus Christ and His cross and His atonement. That's the message of the gospel to people. They have to repent and put their faith in the Lord. So then the third section here of the two witnesses in verse 11 to 14. Now, after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, come up here. And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them. In the same hour, there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. In the earthquake, 7,000 people were killed, and the rest were afraid and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly." So, 1 Corinthians 15.20. says, but now Christ has risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. Beloved, we should rejoice in the fact that we know that in Christ Jesus we're going to be raised from the dead. When I do an internment at a funeral, a lot of times we do a funeral at a funeral home or at a church and we'll go to the graveside and I'll say a few scriptures, it's a short service and we have a prayer and then the body is lowered into the ground. And in that internment is always that we have a blessed hope of the resurrection of the body. The Bible, I think, clearly teaches that when we die, our spirit goes to be with the Lord, our bodies decay and go to the ground, and that God, in His return, Jesus Christ, will give a shout and our bodies will come up out of the ground and be reunited to our spirits and our glorified bodies. 2 Corinthians 4.14, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you, Paul says. And it says in Revelation that the breath of life, that could be interpreted properly, the spirit of life entered them. It didn't raise them to resume witnessing. That time is over. The time of witness is done. The day of grace is gone. The witnesses are removed. I think no matter what we interpret this as, I think we all can agree that these things are true. There's going to be a time when the day of grace is over. When the witness of the church has done her job and it'll be over. If these are two human beings, as many interpret this, there's going to be a time when their ministry of witness is done. God lifts them to glory. And when that happens, the Bible says there's a great earthquake. Hughes interprets that sort of figuratively. He says it's a catastrophic shaking of human society with all of its structures. And 7,000 die. Partial, yet a complete number that die. And in fear, they give glory to God. Those that don't die, they give glory to God. And I don't think here it's repentance. I think it's worldly sorrow that leads to death. That's what the Apostle Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 7, right? There's a godly sorrow that leads to repentance and life, salvation. And there's a worldly sorrow. Judas regretted what he did. But he didn't repent. He didn't put his faith in Jesus Christ. He went and killed himself. Peter regretted what he did, repented, and resumed his fellowship with Jesus. And the only difference between those two, Judas and Peter, is that Jesus had prayed for Peter. Jesus told him, Satan's asked to sift you like wheat. You're like putty in Satan's hands. You're going to fall, Peter. But when you are restored, because I've prayed for you, I've prayed for you, and when you are restored, what do you tell them to do? Go encourage your brothers. That's what my mission is for you, Peter. So the three woes of Revelation. We saw that announced in Revelation 8.13, the angels flying and saying, woe, woe, woe. Revelation 9.12, one woe was passed, remember Satan's army of locusts with scorpion tails. The second woe, in verse 14, the second woe was passed, the third is quickly to come. So in the second woe, we have the four angels from the Euphrates, a third of mankind is killed, the great earthquake, a tenth of the city is destroyed, 7,000 die. And then the third woe. Is there a difference of opinion of what the third woe is? Of course there is. It's the book of Revelation. So some think that third woe is the rest of this chapter. I hold that view. Some see it as Satan cast to the earth in chapter 12. Some see it as the seven bowls of wrath in chapter 16. But I lean a little more towards the rest of what we see in chapter 11. And beloved, no matter what view you hold of this book, if you're in Christ, you're my brother, you're my sister, that's fine. That's okay. We'll know perfectly what these things mean when we get to glory. And I look forward to that. In the meantime, we all study and just hopefully exalt Jesus in our minds and our thoughts. But beloved, if this next passage doesn't thrill your soul, something's wrong. Something is wrong. So let me read this from verse 15. Now this is the sounding of the seventh trumpet. Then the seventh angel sounded, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever. And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give you thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is, and who was, and who is to come, because you have taken your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and your wrath has come. And the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that you should reward your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth. Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen in his temple, and there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail. It literally reads, verse 15, literally reads like this. And sometimes in your Bible, I know in my New King James, it'll put things in italic if they were words that were added. Because it's hard to take the Greek and then say, well, this is what it says in English. Sometimes you have to add words. Otherwise, it would be like, well, that didn't make any sense. So the literal reading of this is, The kingdoms of the world did become of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign to the ages of the ages." So a good translation, forever and ever. And the reason why I point that out is because the kingdoms of this world is plural. All these various kingdoms that are under the sway of Satan, all the nations, all your maps with all this divisions, all the people groups, all the tribes, all the tongues, all these various ones, all under the influence of Satan. All of that become of our Lord. In other words, it's one kingdom. And beloved, I think it's a daily prayer Jesus taught us to pray, the Lord's Prayer. And in that prayer, and I pray it every day, just about, we pray that God Lord, let your kingdom come. We're praying for this to happen. Lord, let your kingdom, not a plural kingdom, but all these multitudes of kingdoms that are under the sway of Satan. Defeat Satan and let your kingdom come and reign on earth as it is in heaven. So I'm going to skip this whole page, spend all this time on these things, but I'll skip it for time's sake. Oh, we got a little bit of time. Let me give you a little of this. I don't want to instill confusion, but there's various views. And I have no fight with anybody that holds any one of these views. As far as when will the church be raptured, I had a person that I don't attend our church anymore, but one time I overheard him tell somebody else, oh, Pastor Larry doesn't believe in a rapture. Well, the Bible says there's a rapture, so I have to believe in a rapture. It's just when does the rapture occur is where we're kind of divided. So those who hold to a pre-tribulation rapture, before the tribulation ever happens, if it's an actual seven-year period, and before that happens, the church is raptured, and it's very popular, especially in America today. The question is, is this seventh trumpet the last trumpet? Because the Bible speaks elsewhere of the last trumpet. Now, I can tell you it's the last trumpet in Revelation. Pre-tribulation rapture folks would say, no, this is not the same trumpet as what's spoken of elsewhere as the last trumpet. And they would maybe hold a Revelation 3.10 as a good proof text or a good support, where Jesus tells the church that they were going to be kept from the hour of trial. Mid-tribulation folks, right? What do they see here? Well, they see that this is the last trumpet. And this trumpet blast is three and a half years into the tribulation. So at the mid-tribulation, the witness is taken up to glory. That's the church going to glory, right? Even if it's just two human beings, but it's symbolic of the church. And this is the last trumpet. In 1 Corinthians 15.52, in the moment of the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. Post-tribulation, folks, they say, no, the tribulation is either a real seven-year period at the end of which the church will be taken up, to come back with Jesus and join Him in His triumphant return, or maybe you're an amillennialist, that's hard to say, and you hold the view that, well, it's really the tribulation is the entirety from the ascension to the return, but it is an actual, this is actually the last trumpet, and it's telling us that at this point that the church rises, right, even at the end of tribulation. And to hold that view, you'd have to say, well, the rest of the bowls of wrath and all that are just recapitulating what we've already studied in broader forms of the entirety of the church age. And I kind of lean into that realm myself with my view. So I have no problem if anybody holds those other views. It's not an easy book, to be sure. But I will say the things that are plain in the book, we all can agree on. The things that are plain in this book is that Jesus Christ is Lord. He is returning for his bride. That Jesus is causing the church to be the church triumphant. Satan and his minions are going to be defeated and cast out. So those things we can all agree on. So this is a picture, no doubt, I think every camp would say, this is a picture of the consummation of the kingdom. And those that are maybe of a different camp would say, well, it's inserted here to encourage the church, that we know as we move into more of this tribulation that, hey, the day of Jesus' return, the consummation of the kingdom, it is coming for sure. And when it does come, the voices from heaven are giving praises. And I just want to kind of wrap up with what these praises are. God is praised for his power and reign. And these are things we should praise God for. Sweet says, it is not the normal exercise of divine power, but the final and overwhelming display to which all the prophecies have been pointing. It's the final culmination of all that, that he is going to exercise his power and reign. He's praised for exercising His divine wrath. Finally, the day has come. God is going to exercise His divine wrath. It'll be the demise of all of His enemies, the enemies of the church. He's praised for His giving of His divine reward. And the Bible says, to the saints and to the prophets, those who love Him, there's a divine reward. He's praised for destroying those who destroy the earth. And I don't think that's just simply people that throw trash out their window when they drive the car by, although I think it's a very bad thing to do. We are stewards of this planet, the Bible says. But I think Revelation 19.2 might help with what is he talking about there. In 19.2 of Revelation it says, For true and righteous are his judgments, because he has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication. and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants shed by her." So it's more of a picture and revelation of the corrupting power over this world by those that do not love God. And the one thing I find really interesting here is that we get a vision of a temple in heaven. It says, then the temple of God was opened, verse 19, in heaven, and the ark of his covenant was seen. and his temple. So what's this? If it's symbolizing something, because I personally don't think there's a temple. Later on in Revelation, we don't need a temple. We don't need light. God's our light, right? We'll be with God in glory. But what's this symbolizing? Isaiah 37, 16, O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, the one who dwells between the cherubim. What does that mean between the cherubim? Well, there was two cherubim on either side of the Ark of the Covenant. It's a picture of God's presence. God's presence with His people for eternity. And I'll wrap up with one quote by Robert Mounts. And I think this is really well written. He says, it is the long-awaited declaration that God has triumphed over evil and established his eternal reign. While in one sense, this act was accomplished on the cross, in another sense, it awaits a future manifestation. It is then that every knee shall bow and every tongue confess. The church lives in the interim period between the defeat of Satan, he means at the cross, and his final expulsion. That's at his second coming. To grasp the certainty of both events is to live victoriously in the present. Beloved, I think it's a great way to wrap up our study today. Have in mind that Satan has been definitively defeated at the cross. And he will be expelled completely. Anything that's of sin and of the devil will be expelled, and God will reign, and we will co-reign with Christ, the Bible says. And we look for that day. And we as a church are in between those two points. And we are to be faithful, the faithful bride, as we await his second coming. So let me end with that, and I'll pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you for your truth, for your word, Lord. And Lord, we pray that you'd help us. Lord, we are simple folk. Lord, these are hard things to comprehend and understand. So I pray that your spirit would massage these things in our thinking, Lord, that we would meditate on these things. As Bereans, we would go back to our homes and read your word and see if these things aren't so. Lord, and I thank you for that, in Jesus' name, amen.