
Revelation
11:18 (NASB) "And the nations were enraged, and
Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and to
reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who
fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who
destroy the earth." This verse was future when John wrote
it, but it was fulfilled in the first century with the destruction of
Jerusalem in 70 AD. The wrath refers to God's covenantal
judgment on apostate Israel, as Jesus foretold in Matthew 23:35-36: "So that upon you will fall the
guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth... Truly I say to you,
all these things will come upon this generation." The judgment of the dead was not a
global resurrection event, but the vindication of the faithful saints
and martyrs under the Old Covenant. This matches Revelation 6:10 where the
souls cried out, "How long, O Lord... will You refrain from
judging and avenging our blood?" The reward was entrance into the New
Covenant Kingdom, symbolized as the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2),
the restored presence of God with His people. It was eternal life, resurrection from
Sheol, and full access to God through the New Covenant. The faithful received what Jesus
promised in Matthew 13:43: "Then the righteous will shine
forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." The destruction of those who destroy
the earth (land) refers to the judgment on the corrupt leaders of
Israel who polluted the covenant land. This ties to Matthew 22:7: "But the king was enraged, and he
sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers and set their city on
fire." In summary: Revelation 11:18 was fulfilled in 70
AD. God's wrath was poured out on apostate Jerusalem, the dead were
judged and vindicated, and the faithful received their reward,
eternal life, covenantal resurrection, and full access to the Kingdom
of God.
By Dan Maines
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