Albert Barnes Commentary Revelation 11:15

"And the seventh angel sounded; and there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become [the kingdom] of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." — Revelation 11:15 (ASV)

And the seventh angel sounded. (See the notes on Revelation 8:2, Revelation 8:6, and Revelation 8:7).

This is the last of the trumpets, implying, of course, that under this the series of visions was to end, and that this was to introduce the state of things under which the affairs of the world were to be concluded. The place this occupies in the order of time is when the events relating to the colossal Roman power—the fourth kingdom of Daniel (Daniel 2–7)—will have been completed, and when the reign of the saints (Daniel 7:9–14, 27-28) will have been introduced. This, both in Daniel and in John, is to occur when the mighty power of the Papacy will have been overthrown, at the termination of the twelve hundred and sixty years of its duration (see the notes on Daniel 7:25).

In both Daniel and in John, the termination of that persecuting power is the commencement of the reign of the saints: the downfall of the Papacy, the introduction of the kingdom of God, and its establishment on the earth.

And there were great voices in heaven. This signifies exultation and praise. The great fulfillment had come; the long-anticipated and desired period when God would reign on the earth had arrived, and this provides the basis for joy and thanksgiving in heaven.

The kingdoms of this world. The modern editions of the New Testament (see Tittmann and Hahn) read this in the singular: "The kingdom of this world has become," etc. According to this reading, the meaning would be either that the sole reign over this world had become that of the Lord Jesus, or, more probably, that the dominion over the earth had been regarded as one in the sense that Satan had reigned over it, but has now become the kingdom of God. This means, as Professor Stuart notes, that "the kingdoms of this world are many, considered in themselves; but in reference to the sway of Satan, there is only one kingdom ruled over by the 'god of this world.'"

The sense is not materially different whichever reading is adopted, though the authority is in favor of the latter (Wetstein). According to the common reading, the sense is that all the kingdoms of the earth, being many in themselves, have now been brought under the one scepter of Christ. According to the other, the whole world was regarded as in fact one kingdom—that of Satan—and the scepter has now passed from his hands into those of the Savior.

The kingdoms of our Lord. Or, "the kingdom of our Lord," according to the reading adopted in the previous part of the verse. The word Lord here evidently refers to God as such—represented as the original source of authority and as giving the kingdom to His Son (see the notes on Daniel 7:13-14).

The word Lord—kuriov—implies the notion of possessor, owner, sovereign, supreme ruler, and is thus properly given to God (Matthew 5:33; Mark 5:19; Luke 1:6, 28; Acts 7:33; Hebrews 8:2, 10; James 4:15, and often elsewhere).

And of his Christ. This means "of His anointed"; of Him who is set apart as the Messiah and consecrated to this high office (see the notes on Matthew 1:1).

He is called "His Christ" because He is set apart by God, or appointed by Him, to perform the work appropriate to that office on earth. Language such as this is often employed, in which God and Christ are spoken of as, in some respects, distinct—as sustaining different offices and performing different works. The essential meaning here is that the kingdom of this world has now become the kingdom of God under Christ; that is, that kingdom is administered by the Son of God.

And He shall reign forever and ever. A kingdom is commenced which will never terminate. It is not said that this would be on the earth; but the essential idea is that the scepter of the world has now, after so long a time, come into His hands, nevermore to pass away. The fuller characteristics of this reign are stated in a subsequent part of this book (Revelation 20–22).

What is stated here is in accordance with all the predictions in the Bible. A time is to come when, in the proper sense of the term, God is to reign on the earth; when His kingdom is to be universal; when His laws will be everywhere recognized as binding; when all idolatry will come to an end; and when the understandings and hearts of men everywhere will bow to His authority (Isaiah 9:7; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 45:22; Psalms 60; Daniel 2:35, 44-45; Daniel 7:13–14, 27-28; Zechariah 14:9; Malachi 1:11; Luke 1:33).

On this whole subject, see the very ample illustrations and proofs in the notes on Daniel 2:44-45; Daniel 7:13–14, 27-28; and Revelation 20–22.