Has Become

Revelation 11:15 The Seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah, and he will reign for ever and ever.”

Every day I look around and see that something is fundamentally wrong with the world. I see the corruption of humanity and the brokenness that has rippled through the rest of creation. I see the sickness and hear the silent cries of the oppressed. My heart cries with the rest of humanity in a collective “Why?”

Even those who don’t believe in Jesus raise their heads and shake their fists heavenward when tragedy strikes. Even the presence of these deep questions speaks to the ‘wrongness’ of the world as it is today. And this isn’t a new phenomenon. This longing of the soul has been speaking for millennia. And the questions haven’t changed over time.

But there is a reason for this. The world is fundamentally broken, broken by the presence of sin. The whole creation groans, the Scriptures say, and we also groan. So what are we to do?

John sees and hears. And what he sees and hears can alter our perception of the current state of things. He hears yelling from heaven (loud voices), and listen to what they say. This world’s kingdom has become a different kingdom. There is a change in the nature of the kingdom that rules this place.

So if the nature of the kingdom is going to change, what is the nature of the new kingdom? Firstly it will be a kingdom ruled, guided, inhabited by the Lord and the Messiah (Christ). This is not a true statement of our present moment. The LORD has given space for humanity to rule this place, this time, this kingdom. And we have made a real mess of it.

The groaning of this present age is just the symptom of the sickness that is fundamental to this kingdom. But there is a cure coming, in fact it is here already. The Church is the kingdom come, His will be done. At least that is the plan.

We are to be Jesus hands and feet. We are to be living the Kingdom of God. But we still live in a fallen world, so our best efforts at obedience and submission will fall short.

But there is a day coming when God’s Kingdom will merge with this earthly kingdom. His kingdom will overwhelm the forces of this kingdom and clean it up. He will make it Holy as He is Holy. The glories of Heaven will end up here on Earth.

This is what John sees, the replacing of earthly powers and authorities with Heaven’s power and authority. And this will continue forever. There will be no end to this new kingdom of righteousness. What a hope! In the middle of the mess we have made, one day His Kingdom will be right here for all to see.

No wonder the inhabitants of this newly inhabited space give thanks for the victory that is won. All the old sinful order is wiped out. Only righteousness reigns. Perfection forever. And we can be part of that newly established Kingdom.