Quoting verses 5-7 from chapter 10 of the Bible book of Revelation we read, "And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted up his hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer, but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished as He declared to His servants the prophets." Verse 7 tells of the days when the mystery of God, which He has declared to His servants the prophets, will be finished.

What is this mystery? There are countless mysteries of God that mankind knows nothing about, but this particular mystery has been made known according to God’s explicit word and it is one that the prophets have been privileged to expound upon. In Mark 15:43 we are told how Joseph of Arimethea waited for the establishment of the kingdom of God. This expressed hope is central to understanding the revealed mystery of Rev. Ch. 10 which God will bring to a conclusion with the sounding of the 7th angel. The specific timing of this great event takes place at the midway point of the final 7 years of the tribulation period known as Daniel’s 70th Week (Dan. 9:27). As we shall see, the Scriptures reveal in Rev. 12:14 that the conclusion of the days of tribulation will end 3 ½ years in the future from this point at the Battle of Armageddon as is prophesied in Rev. Ch. 19.

The one great mystery concealed from the ungodly but proclaimed throughout the Old and New Testament writings of the prophets is the promised days when the Lord would establish His rule. Prophesying of the time of the great tribulation Daniel the prophet wrote in verse 44 of Ch. 2 in the Old Testament book which bears his name, "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and it shall stand forever."

Precisely how the kingdom of God would be established through God’s Messiah was not revealed in its fullness to the Old Testament prophets, but remained partially concealed until the Lord Jesus Christ Himself lifted the veil from the mystery which surrounded its fulfillment. Regarding this mystery of the kingdom we read in Mark 4:11, "And He [that is Jesus] said to them, ‘To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.’"

The key passages of Scripture which directly connect the mystery of the kingdom to the mystery in Rev. 10:7 can be found in Ephesians 1:9-10, Rev. 12:7-10 & 11:15-18. All of these passages speak of the same period when the 7th trumpet is blown during the tribulation.

Quoting Eph. 1:9-10 we read, "…having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him."

It is important to keep in mind from this passage in Ephesians that at the time when Christ gathers together all things to Himself He begins with heaven and then follows with the things of earth. It is the time He begins to exercise His rule over all things and begins to reign.

Quoting from Rev. 12:7-10 we read of this "fullness of the times" (Eph. 1:10) when the lower heaven is first cleansed of evil with the arrival of the kingdom of God and is then brought under Christ’s dominion. "And war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down."

There are some who believe the Rapture of the Church will take place at this time during the blowing of the 7th trumpet. This passage of Scripture thoroughly refutes this notion of a mid-tribulation Rapture if one only continues to read on through verses 11-12 & 17. We quote, "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. "Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time"…And the dragon was enraged with the woman, [that is Israel] and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."

Instead of the Rapture taking place at the arrival of the kingdom of God we find the tribulation saints facing almost certain death from the wrath of the devil. There is no Rapture to heaven at this time because the Rapture of the Church will have already taken place at least 3 ½ years earlier before Jesus Christ opened the first seal of the Tribulation Period in Rev. Ch. 6. Verse 14 of Rev. 10 verifies that 3 ½ of the 7 year Tribulation have elapsed by this point in time with its reference to there only being a time, times and half a time remaining (that is 3 ½ years) for Jewish believers to be hidden from the serpent.

Some may contend that no scriptural evidence has been presented thus far to verify that this time when Christ begins to reign at the arrival of the kingdom of God does in fact correspond with the sounding of the trumpet of the seventh angel. Without such proof those who disagree could rightfully dispute that the declared mystery of God found in Rev. 10:7 is harmonious with the arrival of the kingdom of God.

Such solid scriptural evidence can be found in the Revelation passage of verses 15-18 of Ch. 11. This passage of prophecy leaves no room for any doubt that the arrival of the kingdom of God takes place at the trumpet sounding of the seventh angel and is most definitely the finish of the mystery of God declared to His prophets of old. We quote, "Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!" And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying: "We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. "The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth."

The long awaited days when God will judge the wicked and bring about the restoration of all things will begin with the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet. The writer of Psalm 94 wrote in verses 1-3, "O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongs - O God, to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth! Rise up, O Judge of the earth; Render punishment to the proud. Lord, How long will the wicked, How long will the wicked triumph?"

Then again in Rev. 6:10 we hear from the martyred souls of the tribulation saints who had missed the Rapture, "…How long O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"

God has promised since days of old that His time of vengeance and judgment will surely come. In verses 5-6 of Psa. 110 the prophet records of Christ, "The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries."

Let us now summarize. Before the start of the 7 year Tribulation period at the blowing of the trumpet of God, the restraining power of the Holy Spirit-indwelt Church will be removed to heaven at the event commonly referred to as the Rapture (II Thess. 2:7 & I Thess. 4:15-18). For 3 ½ years the evil world dictator called Anti-Christ will have free reign to deceive the Christ-rejecting world as God sends strong delusion to those who chose to trust in unrighteousness ( II Thess. 2:9-12).

At the end of these first 3 ½ years at the arrival of the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ begins the days of His reign at the sounding of the seventh angel’s trumpet (Rev. 10:7 & 11:15-18). The Lord begins His reign by cleansing the lower heaven of Satan and his angels by casting them down to the earth. During this time the Anti-Christ is granted to continue in his time of authority upon the planet for the remaining 3 ½ years until the Lord completes His days of wrath when He returns to the earth (Eph. 6:12, Rev. 12:7-12, 13:5-8, 19:17-21 & 20:1-3). After a 1,000 year reign upon the earth Jesus will bring all evil to its complete and final end (Rev. 20:7-15).

The day of all these glorious events is near at hand. Precious time and eternal fates are at risk by those who resist the call to salvation during these remaining days before the Church is removed. You do not want to miss this blessed opportunity to be a heavenly witness to the day when the kingdom of God arrives as declared to His prophets. This very moment you can be assured of your eternal forgiveness by God by trusting in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ who paid the full penalty for the sins of the world with His own precious blood.

Rom. 10:9 tells us, "…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Don’t put it off.