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victory in the future

Revelation 11:1-19

Revelation 11:1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there.
Revelation 11:2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the sacred city for forty-two months.
Revelation 11:3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.”
Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the land.
Revelation 11:5 If anyone wants to wrong them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to wrong them, he must be killed in this way.
Revelation 11:6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the land with every plague whenever they want.
Revelation 11:7 When they finish their testimony, the wild animal that comes up out of the depthless place will make war on them, conquer them, and kill them.
Revelation 11:8 Their dead bodies will lie in the main street of the great city, which figuratively is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.
Revelation 11:9 And some of the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations will view their bodies for three and a half days and not permit their bodies to be put into a tomb.
Revelation 11:10 Those who live on the land will gloat over them and celebrate and send gifts to one another because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the land.
Revelation 11:11 But after three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them.
Revelation 11:12 Then they heard a loud voice from the sky saying to them, “Come up here.” They went up to the sky in a cloud, while their enemies watched them.
Revelation 11:13 At that moment a violent earthquake took place, a tenth of the city fell, and seven thousand humans were killed in the earthquake. The survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of the sky.
Revelation 11:14 The second woe has passed. Notice, the third woe is coming quickly!
Revelation 11:15 The seventh agent blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in the sky saying, The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ages and ages.
Revelation 11:16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God,
Revelation 11:17 saying, We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign.
Revelation 11:18 The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your slaves the prophets, to the devotees, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the land.
Revelation 11:19 Then the temple of God in the sky was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.

victory in the future

The age described is one marked by tension, where the people of God and the word of God stand in contrast to the values and powers that shape the kingdom of the world. Revelation portrays this conflict honestly. It does not pretend that faithfulness is easy or that the world welcomes the rule of God. Instead, it acknowledges a long history of resistance, hostility, and spiritual opposition. Yet the chapter also lifts the eyes beyond the present struggle. It reveals that a decisive moment is coming when the imbalance will be reversed. When the seventh trumpet sounds, the declaration rings out that “the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” This is not merely a poetic line; it is the announcement of a transfer of authority, a final and irreversible shift in ownership. What has been contested will be reclaimed. What has been corrupted will be restored.

The chapter holds together two realities that often feel contradictory: persecution from human powers and protection from divine sovereignty. The witnesses face hostility, violence, and apparent defeat. The holy city is trampled. Evil seems to advance unchecked. Yet none of this unfolds outside the boundaries set by God. The time allotted to the nations is limited. Their trampling is measured. Their rage is temporary. Even the death of the witnesses is not the end, for God breathes life into them again. The pattern is clear: suffering is real, but it is not ultimate. Human opposition is fierce, but it is not final.

The most important truth revealed is the certainty of victory. The future is not an open question. God has already determined its outcome. The trumpet does not announce the possibility of Christ’s reign; it proclaims its arrival. The kingdoms of this world, with all their pride and violence, will not endure. The reign of God and of his Christ will. This assurance steadies the heart in the present. Troubles may obscure the hope for a moment, but they cannot erase it. The chapter invites a long view of history, one in which the apparent triumphs of evil are brief and the reign of God is everlasting.

LORD, give us strength to endure whatever we might face as we witness to your gospel. We know that the victory you promise is sure.