The Christ in Prophecy Journal

The Mighty Angels of Revelation 11 Continued

MP3: The Mighty Angels of Revelation 11
Hosts: Nathan Jones & Vic Batista

The Seventh Trumpet Judgment Angel

Nathan Jones: We have now gotten to the fourteenth of the 21 Tribulation judgments. God uses yet another angel to pour out His judgment — the Seventh Trumpet Judgment Angel. Revelation 11:15-16 reveals:

“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 worshiped God…”

The 24 Elders from Revelation 4:4 fall on their faces and worship God and proclaim the praises of the One who is doling out justice. Revelation 11:17-18 records what they say:

“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.”

When we get to the first half of Revelation 11:19, a great mystery is finally answered: “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple…” Is it the Ark of the Covenant commissioned by Moses and carried around by the Israelites into battle? Is this the famed Ark from the Indiana Jones movies, or is it the heavenly original the earthly Ark was modeled upon? We aren’t told, but I tend to believe it’s the latter.

The second half of Revelation 11:19 describes what the blowing of the Seventh Trumpet produces: “And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

Some Bible prophecy teachers will claim that the Seventh Trumpet launches the Seven Bowl Judgments that will soon follow. Verse 19 tells us otherwise, as the Seventh Trumpet Judgment has actual judgments built into it. The judgments are lightening, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and a great hail upon the land, ie natural disasters. God uses nature yet another time as a judgment. Just after the the Two Witnesses are resurrected, along with a great earthquake in Jerusalem, God terrifies His enemies and sparks praise from His children. This action shows that God has restarted rolling out His judgments.

Nathan Jones: #God terrifies His enemies and sparks praise from His children. Click To Tweet

Vic Batista: Where I live in Florida, we get small hail storms and abrupt changes in weather, but the hail stones are just little pebbles in size, and still we’re freaking out. The hail that we are talking about here in Revelation 11 is not little pebbles, right?

Nathan Jones: No, and the hail actually gets bigger and bigger as Revelation progresses, until by the last Bowl Judgment we’re talking about 100 pound hailstones. The hail is big enough to flatten cars! You can imagine what would happen to anyone should they get caught in a hail storm such as that.

God uses hail and other violent acts of nature to get people’s attention, not only to judge them, but also to bring people to repentance. I’m reminded of the terrible earthquake that struck Nepal in 2015, and how many Christian aid groups responded by sending workers to help and share the Gospel to a country that has been pretty resistant to the Good News. Now there are missionaries all over the country providing food and supplies, and the Gospel is being shared. Sometimes God has to break down those walls in order to get His Word in.

Vic Batista: When it comes to the signs of the end times that point to Jesus’ soon return, God wants to get our attention. I believe that during the Tribulation God will work in the same condition. Sometimes horrific events have to happen in order for people to start waking up spiritually.

Nathan Jones: Read the book of Joel. He was one of the Minor Prophets. He recorded a terrible locust invasion. The insects ate everything in sight. The people were weeping and wailing and wondering why this disaster happened to them. Joel revealed that it was God Himself who was behind the disaster, and the reason was because the people had grown spiritual apathetic. They didn’t really pay any attention to God. God had to send the Israelites a disaster in order to shake them out of their spiritual stupor and bring them back to knowing God again.

Likewise, God has to shake up our lives sometimes as well. Maybe He uses a loss or a death or a tragedy, but God allows suffering to happen in our lives because we have grown apathetic in our relationship with Him. And, it works, as most of the time tragedy brings Christians closer to God and it keeps us staying with Him through the thick of it.

Vic Batista: I’m reminded about how God in the Old Testament used supernatural disasters and different plagues to get the people’s attention. Pharaoh didn’t want to let God’s people go, and so he received God’s plagues descending upon his rule over Egypt.

God actually wants people to know how much He loves them, but people are still just wanting to go their own way. God is so loving and so good, so sometimes He will cause disasters to happen in order to shake people up spiritually. He says, “Listen, I love you, but you’ve got to pay attention! It’s for your own good.”

Nathan Jones: Joel teaches us that God believes that our relationship with Him is the most important thing in our lives. God will do anything in order to get our attention and turn our relationship into a right relationship with Him. If that means we have to go through a little pain, He is willing to dole it out. We in turn should be willing to respond by action, by drawing closer to Him and not backing further away.

Vic Batista: Absolutely! I don’t know if you’ve ever had a really bad abscessed tooth so that a dentist had to pull it out. The loving thing not to do would be if the dentist said, “No, don’t worry about it. I’m just going to leave that rotten tooth in your mouth.”

Nathan Jones: When trouble passes, eventually the pain goes away, and then God can comfort and give us hope. Hope is what God provides in Revelation 10-11. God has given us comfort and hope that the terrible times that are ahead will indeed come to an end. People living through the Tribulation will need to hear that comfort as well.

Vic Batista: I hope people reading Revelation are encouraged by God’s messages in chapters 10-11. Is anyone struggling with difficult circumstances? Have you not yet opened up your heart to Jesus? Maybe you’re thinking that there is still more time to make a decision for Christ. Today can be your day of salvation!

Nathan Jones: You can come to know the Lord by putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Repent of your sins and ask in prayer, “Dear, Jesus, please forgive me of my sins and be my Savior.” He will forgive you of your sin as He takes the punishment away and puts it upon Himself on the cross. Jesus promises to transform your life. You can have freedom from guilt and judgment in this life and the life to come.

In the twenty-fourth segment of our series “The Mighty Angels of Revelation,” a fiery-red dragon will attempt to devour a child.

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Dr. Nathan E. Jones

As the Internet Evangelist at Lamb & Lion Ministries, Nathan reaches out to the over 4.5 billion people accessible over the Internet with the Good News of Jesus Christ. He also co-hosts the ministry's television program Christ in Prophecy and podcast The Truth Will Set You Free.

3 CommentsLeave a Comment

  • I know how difficult times bring us closer to God. I’m in one of those times right now. My husband is presently hospitalized from an accident with a broken pelvis and two broken ribs. He punctured his lung and has a chest tube.

    When I pray, I feel God so close to me. I listen to Christian radio as I travel across town to the trauma hospital each day. It seems almost every song is about trusting God through the storm.

    Thanks Nathan and Vic for this article. I hope that God brings both me and my husband much closer to Him through all of this. This is my heartfelt prayer.

    • So sorry to hear about the trials you and your husband are enduring, Kim. We here at Lamb & Lion Ministries will be praying for healing and strength. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.” – James 1:2-3

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