And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.
Revelation 10:5-7 (ESV)
Revelation 10 is an interlude between the sounding of the fifth and sixth trumpets. John saw a mighty angel come down from heaven with a scroll in his hand. And the angel announced to John that when the seventh trumpet sounded, there would be no more delay. The mystery of God would be fulfilled. A mystery that had been announced to the prophets.
What is this mystery of God, announced to the prophets? Paul refers to a long-hidden mystery in Colossians 1:26-27, Christ in us, the hope of glory. Related to this is the mystery of Ephesians 3:1-6, which states that the Gentiles are fellow heirs with the Jews, members of one body, and partakers of the promise in Christ. Paul also used the word ‘mystery’ in 1 Corinthians 15:51-53 to describe our coming resurrection and the transformation of our bodies.
When the Seventh Trumpet Sounds
But this mystery of God in Revelation 10:7 is best understood in light of what happens later when the seventh trumpet actually sounds. Revelation 11:15 tells us that when the seventh trumpet is blown, the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of Christ, and He will reign forever.
The message of the prophets included the establishment of an eternal kingdom. A kingdom with a descendant of David on the throne, and the regathering of Israel. And this message, and its hidden mystery, is fulfilled with the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
The mystery is that this will be a kingdom, not based on ethnicity, but composed of all those who are in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike (Eph 3:1-6). A kingdom that occupies the whole of the new heavens and earth. Not just a small portion in the Middle East. A kingdom and rule that will last, not for 1000 years, but for the remainder of eternity. Something for all believers to look forward to.
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”
Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
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