And the seventh angel sounded 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 will reign forever and ever.”

And the twenty-four elders who were before God sitting on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and begun to reign; and the nations were enraged, and your wrath came and the time for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear your name, the small and the great ones, and to destroy the destroyers of the earth.”

And the temple of God that is in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant in His temple was seen; and there came flashes of lightening, voices, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and great hail. Revelation 11: 15-19

The third woe begins, and its continuation is fleshed out in Chap. 16

Satan, as the angel of the abyss that ascends out of the bottomless pit, had been given the key to authority over all the world’s wicked. They controlled the nations. Up to this point, this had been the case during the scenarios of the first six trumpets.  Now God takes back the key. Satan will have no control over anything for the next thousand years.

The twenty-four elders, whose thrones were seated from since the Investigative Judgment, started back in Rev., chap, 4 & 5, express their relief and gratefulness that Satan’s time for justice, for all time, is near. It will begin with the Millennium. The elders worship and give thanks for God’s wisdom and power of first letting all see the true nature of Satan; this as God asserts His power, showing that He reigns supreme.

And the elders, continuing to speak; then speak of God’s wrath upon the world’s wicked who have been under the delusions of  their gods; that is  Wormwood (false Christ) and Abaddon (exhibiting power of destruction); both of which are disguises of Satan.  God’s wrath is poured out in the form of the seven last plagues (3rd woe). These plagues anger the nations toward God and upon His righteous, sealed saints. Their thoughts are that if the saints could be gotten rid of, the plagues would go away.

The elders also speak of “the time of the dead to be judged.” After the Second Coming the millennium starts. At which point, judgment is given unto the saints who are in heaven and live and reign with Christ for a thousand years. During this time, the books are open concerning all the wicked dead left on earth. The records of their lives are open so that it can be determined if God was fair to them, in terms of exposure to the Gospel. Incidentally, the saints also get to scrutinize the actions of the fallen angels.

The elders further acknowledge God’s awesome power of rewarding all the faithful throughout the ages.

And at the end of this trumpet’s scene, the heavenly temple’s innermost part was opened to John’s sight. And from there – the Most Holy Place – John saw and heard lightning, thunder, earthquakes, and great hail, all of which represent a manifestation of God’s presence.

John also saw the Ark of the Covenant. The ark is a reminder to God’s end-time believers of His love and covenant promise that He is our God, and that we are His people throughout all the trials and tribulations of earth’s closing period.