The Resurrection at the Sound of the Trumpet – #5

Revelation 11:15-19

“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, 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.”

Notice that in Matthew 24 we have the coming of the Son of Man, the sounding of the Trumpet and the gathering of the elect (which is the resurrection) and it would occur in Jesus’ generation. In Revelation 11 we have the judgment of the city “where the Lord was slain” the time of the judgment and the vindication of the martyrs (which is Matthew 23). Very clearly, what we have in Revelation 11 is another version of Matthew 24!

We can’t lose sight of the fact that the sounding of the seventh angel is the sounding of the seventh – the last – trump. See Revelation 10:6f.

The Resurrection at the Sounding of the Trumpet and Revelation 8-11

In Revelation John saw seven angels having seven trumpets. Beginning with chapter 8 those angels sounded their trumpets. In chapter 10, John was told, “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.” The seventh trumpet, the LAST TRUMPET, was the time for the final fulfilling of the Old Covenant prophetic word.

What was to happen when the last trumpet sounded? In chapter 11:15-19 we are told, “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints…” (v.18). The sounding of the last trumpet was the time for the resurrection of the dead, for judgment.

Notice the direct parallel with 1 Corinthians 15, which we have examined earlier in this series.

1 Corinthians 15 is the resurrection- Just as Revelation 11 is about the resurrection

It is at the time of the end – just as Revelation 11 is about the end

It is the time of the rewarding of the saints- the giving of eternal life – just as Revelation 11 is about the rewarding of the saints.

It is the time of the kingdom (v. 51-52)- Just as Revelation 11 is about the time of the kingdom.

It is the end of the Old Covenant age, i.e. the end of “the law” that was the strength of sin, which was nothing less than the Law of Moses (v.55-56)- Just as Revelation 11 is about the judgment of the Old Covenant world epitomized by the city “where the Lord was slain.”

Needless to say, these parallels also tie 1 Corinthians 15 and Revelation 11 to the Olivet Discourse, proving once again that in Matthew 24 Jesus predicted the resurrection at the sounding of the Trumpet- for his generation!

Repeatedly John was told his vision “must shortly come to pass” (1:1-3) and “the time is at hand,” (cf. chapter 22:6,10,12,20). In chapter 6 the martyrs who had suffered for their faith were assured they would have to wait only “for a little while” before being vindicated (6:9f).

But, notice that right there in chapter 11 we are given the direct context for this trumpet blast, the judgment and the resurrection. It would be, according to verse 8, at the judgment of the city “where the Lord was slain.”

Language could hardly be clearer. Yet, fascinatingly enough, we find in the Postmillennial literature that it is commonly held that Revelation 11 was indeed about the end of the Old Covenant age of Israel in AD 70, but then, they claim that there is another sounding of the last trumpet, another resurrection when “the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ.” See my book, The Resurrection of Daniel 12:2: Fulfilled or Future? where I provide extensive documentation from leading Postmillennialists who admit that Revelation 11 was fulfilled in AD 70. Some of the men cited are Gentry, Mathison, DeMar, etc.. You will be shocked to read their admissions!

Source: Don K. Preston