Sunday School Notes: Revelation 11:13-15

¹³ And in that hour there was a great earthquake and a tenth of the city fell and seven thousand names of men were killed in the earthquake, and the rest became full of fear and gave glory to the God of heaven. ¹⁴ The second woe has departed; behold the third woe comes quickly. ¹⁵ And the seventh angel trumpeted, and there were loud voices in heaven saying, “The kingdom of the world has become [that] of our Lord and His Christ, and he shall reign forever.”

Picking up where we left off last time, John sees in his vision a great earthquake, the destruction of one tenth of the city, and seven thousand people dying as a result of the earthquake. We’ve already discussed the fact that earthquakes often accompany judgment, especially in prophetic and visionary passages. This earthquake is part of the beginning of The End, a judgment against the unregenerate, hard-hearted people who mocked and persecuted the Two Witnesses (i.e., the church). We talked about arguments for and against “the city” being Jerusalem, and though I don’t think it is supposed to be Jerusalem specifically, whatever the city is supposed to represent, it’s not a good place. The people of that city rejected God’s people. And while the seven thousand who perished could be a tenth of the population of Jerusalem, I think it more likely this number is a throwback to 1 Kings 19:18, and the seven thousand in Israel who would not bow the knee to Baal. Since we can’t know for certain there were exactly 70,000 people in Jerusalem, it seems to me we are being told that the city was so wicked, there weren’t even seven thousand men who wouldn’t bow the knee to Baal. In other words, while there was a faithful remnant in Elijah’s day, there’s no longer such a remnant. Another possibility is that the number simply refers to a very large quantity (7, the number of fullness, times by 1,000, the number of magnitude). However, I find the the fact that it’s the exact same number as in 1 Kings 19:18 most compelling.

What of the “tenth”? This could simply be saying that this is just the beginning (like the “thirds” in previous visions), and there’s more to come. But this is an unusual fraction in Revelation. When we think about a “tenth” in biblical terms, we usually think of the tithe–that portion of our “first fruits” (crops, produce, income, etc.) that we give back to the Lord as an act of worship. Could this tenth of the city be a kind of “tithe”–but in terms of judgment, not worship? There is precedent for this idea in the Old Testament hêrem (verb form hâram), a thing given over to the Lord in destruction. Particularly during the conquest of Canaan, God commanded Israel to totally destroy the spoils of battle as an act of dedication to the Lord. Whatever could not be destroyed was to go be put in the sanctuary. It was a kind of involuntary offering exacted from Israel’s enemies. These items were not purified or sanctified by this act. The vanquishing of the enemy was God’s hand of judgment against these people, and the destruction of their things was a kind of offering to the Lord. Could the destruction of one-tenth of the city be a kind of judicial tithe, dedicating the city to destruction as hâram offering to the Lord? It’s a thought, at least.

The end of verse 13 says that the survivors were full of fear and glorified God. Does this mean they became believers? Some may take this passage to refer to a group of people who become Christians after the church is “raptured.” I’ve already said I don’t think this verse is talking about a rapture of the church, so it makes sense I don’t accept that interpretation. In any case, the survivors would be everyone who wasn’t killed in the earthquake. That could be the rest of the city, country, or planet–we’re given no indication of the scale of the earthquake. But more than that, I’m not convinced the survivor’s fear and glorification of the Lord is anything more than “fox-hole faith”–i.e., the kind of thing people will say when all seems lost. “Get me out of this, God, and I’ll give my life to you!” More often than not, it’s insincere.

A good example of this kind of faith born of fear, not true conversion, can be seen in the life of Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel 2:47, Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, and the king extols Daniel’s God, calling Him “God of gods and Lord of kings.” In chapter 3, that same Nebuchadnezzar sets up an idol and commands everyone to bow down to it. Daniel 4:1-3 has Nebuchadnezzar making a decree favoring the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego after their miraculous rescue from the furnace. His letter is full of God’s praises. But in Daniel 4:29-30, Nebuchadnezzar goes up on his roof and sings his own praises. God humbles Nebuchadnezzar, after which the king praises and blesses the Lord (4:34-37). Perhaps now he is converted? The text nowhere says he became one of God’s covenant people, or tore down idols. In fact, Daniel 5:2 makes reference to the Temple vessels that Nebuchadnezzar had taken and were being used by his successor, Belshazzar. If Nebuchadnezzar had become a worshiper of Yahweh, why didn’t he return the Temple vessels? Rather, I think Nebuchadnezzar is simply acknowledging the truth of God’s glory and lordship, but it’s not personal. Like “every tongue” in Philippians 2:10-11 that will confess “Jesus is Lord”–this includes every reprobate tongue. All people will, in the end, recognize the lordship of Christ, even those who are about to perish for eternity. Even the Philistines acknowledged God’s glory when they returned the Ark of the Lord to Israel (1 Samuel 6:1-5).

This demonstrates from Scripture that you don’t have to be a believer to give lip service to the glory of God. And I think that’s what’s happening with these survivors. They’re afraid. They’ve seen some pretty frightening things, from the raising of the Two Witnesses, to a supernatural earthquake destroying part of the city and killing seven thousand people. By means of this vision, John is being shown that the vindication of the church will cause even those who are “vessels prepared for destruction” (Romans 9:22) to recognize the glory of God. It’s just another way of confirming that the church was right all along.

Verse 14 is a transition verse between the vision of 10:1-11:13 and the seventh trumpet. We are told that the second woe has gone away, or has passed. The first woe was 9:1-11, and I believe the second woe was in 9:13-21. The vision John just witnessed in 10:1-11:13 wasn’t part of that woe, but to prepare him for what he’s about to see. In these verses, John has been given a divine commission to prophesy, to proclaim judgment–and that’s what he’s about to do. John sees the church as the Lord’s faithful witness, warning the world of impending judgment, suffering persecution while “tormenting” the world with the gospel. The church will be temporarily vanquished, but she will rise victorious, and the Lord will deal with her persecutors with the promised judgment.

Since we had time, we started discussion of the seventh trumpet, beginning in verse 15. The seventh angel trumpets and there follows the sound of many voices in heaven. We’re used to heavenly praise choruses by now. In 4:8 we had the four living creatures sing; in 4:10, the twenty-four elders proclaim “worthy are you, our Lord and God…” The four creatures and twenty-four elders together to say “worthy are you” to the Lamb when he takes the scroll in 5:9-10. In 7:10, the great multitude from every tribe, nation, tongue, and people cry out “salvation belongs to our God, and then in 7:12 we have angels and the elders joining them saying, “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and praise and might be to our God forever!”

This time, the proclamation begins: “The kingdom of the world has become [that] of our Lord and His Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” This is an interesting declaration, since it is given in the past tense, as if it’s a done deal: “The kingdom of the world has become…” not “is” or “will be.” As far as the heavenly chorus is concerned, it is a done deal. Although John doesn’t see this taking place (yet), because the final trumpet has blasted, that means it’s a fait accompli. Now is the time for what God planned to actually come about. The kingdom of the world is now His. He is claiming it.

The reference to “our Lord and His Christ” is the first allusion in this passage to Psalm 2–here echoing Psalm 2:2: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed.” (“Anointed” in the Greek Old Testament is christos). In the context of Psalm 2:2, “the Lord and His anointed” referred to God and King David. However, the Psalm clearly has a prophetic layer, as is brought out by Revelation 11:15, where the Lord and His Anointed is a reference to the Father and the Son. Although, our Lord could also refer to Jesus, such that we have here a reference to the same Person of the Godhead: our Lord (Jesus), and God’s Messiah (also Jesus). Either interpretation fits with what’s being said here: Jesus is Lord, the King of kings, and he will reign forever over his kingdom, which has now come. Don’t forget, Jesus promised the church in Laodicea that the one who overcomes will sit with him on his throne (3:21). This verse (11:15) could also be referencing Psalm 110:1, “The Lord says to my Lord, ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.'”

We’ll continue our examination of the seventh trumpet next time, Lord willing!