Last 5 Days
Christ will reign forever
15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was, for you have taken your great power and begun to reign. 18 The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”
19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
As the seventh trumpet sounds, it marks the end of the chaos the world experienced in the sounding of the first six trumpets. The calamities, plagues, wars and persecution that took place with the sounding of the six trumpets ceased and the kingdom of the world also ceased. Then a new kingdom begins.
The passage tells us that “the kingdom of the world is replaced by the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and He shall reign forever and ever.” (v15) Jesus will reign over the new world as King and all the people will come, fall on their faces and be in worship of our perfect and righteous King and God. There will be a final judgement where all the dead will be judged; all the faithful Christians will be rewarded, and those who were enemies of God will be destroyed.
This day of the coming of the Lord is what the church had been waiting and looking forward to for the past two thousand years. In fact, the early church had expected Christ to return during the first century, but still it was not time. Some might had thought that God was late, others thought that God had forgotten His suffering people. However, the bible tells us that we have a long suffering God and He waits patiently for his people to turn back from their sins in repentance towards Him. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
It can be easy for believers to be discouraged and to compromise in the kingdom of the world we live in. The world we live in is outwardly attractive, and our hearts are often drawn and deceived by the attractive neon lights of the world. It is so natural to let ourselves loose to sex, power and money, because everyone else is doing it, and it seems strange to not be part of this “natural” order of the kingdom of the world. What more, even within the church, there too are brokenness and divide among believers which turns even the most God loving away.
My dear brothers and sisters, are you also in facing a season of discouragement and temptation to compromise? I want to encourage you to hold on to the promises that Christ gave Himself. He is returning! When he returns, the perfect kingdom awaits you! The kingdom where there will be no sin, no shame, no pain and no fear! The kingdom where there will be perfect intimacy with Him and the fellow saints! When we meet Christ at the mercy seat where He judges the living and the dead, may He finds us faithful. As our lives flash by in the eyes of an eternal God, may the works of our hands and the devotion of our heart is pleasing in His eyes. May He say to us, “my good and faithful servant, for I am pleased”.
