Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

The seventh trumpet sounds, and in heaven loud voices proclaim the final triumph of God and Christ over the world. The theme is the kingdom of God and of Christ—a dual kingdom eternal in its duration. The “kingdom” (GK 993) is a main theme of the entire book of Revelation (1:6, 9; 5:10: 11:17; 12:10: 19:6; 20:4; 22:5). This kingdom involves the millennial kingdom and its blending into the eternal kingdom (chs. 20–22). The image suggests the transference of the world empire, once dominated by a usurping power, that has now at length passed into the hands of its true owner and king. The present rulers are Satan, the beast, and the false prophet. The announcement of the reign of the king occurs here, but the final breaking of the enemies’ hold over the world does not occur till the return of Christ (19:11ff.).

Verses 15–18 are reminiscent of Ps 2. The opening portion of this psalm describes the pagan nations and kings set in opposition to God and his Anointed One. Then there follows the establishment of the Son in Zion as the Sovereign of the world and an appeal to the world rulers to put their trust in the Son before his wrath burns. John does not distinguish here between the millennial kingdom of Christ and the eternal kingdom of the Father (but cf. 3:21) as Paul does (1 Corinthians 15:24–28). This should be viewed as a difference merely of detail and emphasis, not of basic theology. In John’s view this world becomes the arena for the manifestation of God’s kingdom. While at this point the emphasis is on the future visible establishment of God’s kingdom, that same kingdom is in some real sense now present; and John is participating in it .