Revelation 11:19 (ESV)
Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.
The above verse is the last verse of a section about the seven trumpets. A trumpet sound was a warning sound. As God starts to unfold the end times to John, He begins with these seven trumpets to warn mankind of His coming judgement. We have the unsealing of the seven seals and then the seven trumpets. These all lead up to the worse destruction, the seven bowls of judgement. John is being given the final destruction of mankind and Satan’s rule over a corrupt world.
The seventh trumpet is sounded and it ushers in the rule of Christ, to take away the rule of Satan on this earth. Note:
Revelation 11:15 (ESV)
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.”
Currently the prince of the power of this world reigns. We read that he was destroyed by Christ on the cross (John 16:11). But, he still reigns, today, on the earth through the corruptions of mankind. He is the one who pulls the strings of mankind, his puppet. But, when the seventh trumpet sounds, Christ will take reign of this earth. In the above passage we see the two-fold truth in the entire book of Revelation.
1. The Temple of Heaven will be open. This symbolizes that all those who died in Christ and will die have access to the Temple. Notice that the verse states that the Temple is open AND the Ark of the Covenant is revealed. No one but a High Priest could enter into the Temple where the Ark of the Covenant was located. This verse symbolizes that Christ is opening up complete and unhindered access to the Father to those who come by faith in Christ. This is a major theme of the book of Revelation.
2. There will be lighting, earthquakes, thunder and heavy hail. These terms all refer to the judgment coming on the earth. Not only is access to God fully open to those who believe, but there will be judgment on those who don’t. As the bowl judgments unfold in the coming chapters we will read of the deviation about to come on Satan, his demon ranks, mankind and the world’s system.
The above verse gives us the two edged sword of Revelation. It tells of of the wonderful blessing of access to God on the one hand, but tells us of the wrath of God on the other. The temple is wide open to those who believe. The temple will bring wrath on those who refuse to believe. That is the theme of Revelation.
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