At last, the seventh trumpet sounds and there follows great voices (or sounds) in heaven, saying, “THE KINGDOM OF THE WORLD IS BECOME THE KINGDOM OF OUR LORD, AND OF HIS CHRIST (ANOINTED): AND HE SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”
Daniel had prophesied of this event in Daniel 2:44 and in 7:9-14. Most students of the Bible believe that this fourth kingdom is Rome. However, Dennis Lynd, an old friend, and fellow student points out that the High Priests during the Maccabean period were the ethnarchs or kings of Israel (1 Macc. 14:41-49). He believes that the kingdom of God began in the days of these kings and with the fall of this nation. Ananus and Jesus, the son of Gamaliel, were the last two rulers of this “hagiocracy” (The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 201). He argues that this explanation accords with the sequence of events because the start of the kingdom was associated with the time God would pour out His wrath upon the ungodly. For this to work, the four kingdoms of Daniel 7 cannot be the world empires as the Maccabean Period does not fit the rule of the Assyrian, Babylonian, Greek, and Roman empires. It appears that human beings are too rigid in demanding a date for the start of the Messianic rule. His dominion was a growing rule that envisions small beginnings of a tree to a large tree that holds a vast number of birds. When does that dominion start? Does it start with one or two birds perched on its branches? Did he have a rule while walking here on earth? Did He not have disciples before His death and resurrection? These questions can be debated but his rule progressed in different segments, ending with a thousand-year (long period of time) reign with His saints. Either way, we see the Revelation of Jesus Christ to be a victory song of the Lamb who defeats Satan, binds him during the millennial reign. A victory of this magnitude demands He be recognized as the King of kings, Lord of lords who is, who was and is now reigning. The 24 elders who sit before God on their thrones can only fall upon their faces and worship.
The Lord spoke through David, predicting that the nations and kings of the earth were wroth and set themselves against the Jehovah and His anointed with intentions to destroy them. But, God laughs in derision who has the last word, “I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion” (Ps. 2:1-6). This was fulfilled in the first century according to God’s eternal purpose (Acts 4:23-27). Verse 18 tells us that God’s wrath came and the time of the dead to be judged was the time to give their reward to (1) thy servants the prophets (2) to the saints, (3) to them who fear your name, small and great; and to destroy them that destroy the earth. This is the “great and terrible day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31; Mal. 4:5; 3:1; Acts 2:16-21). The Son of Man came in the glory of His Father to render to every man according to his deeds and some of the very people living at the time Jesus promises His return will see Him coming in His Kingdom (Matthew 16:27-28, Matthew 24:30, 34; Mark 8:38-9:1).
The temple was opened in heaven. This is a house not made with hands, thus, it is not Jerusalem’s temple. It is left in ruins (cf. Acts 7:47-49). When John saw this temple, he didn’t see a physical house (Rev. 21:22). The grand opening of this heavenly temple is hardly possible to express in words of earthly descriptions. Yet, all we have available to us are some awe-inspiring displays of God’s power in nature. Each of them is used throughout the book to convey its impact to any witness. Lightning, noises, thunders, earthquakes, and great hail are natural displays that strike at the heart of all who see it. Yet, this grand opening would impact us in a similar way, though I am convinced it is small by comparison.