The Seven Trumpet Judgments
Notes
Transcript
Revelation 8:1-13
As we continue our study of Revelation, we are committed to a literal, verse-by-verse interpretation.
We must, however, remember that there is a mysterious nature to eschatology.
NO ONE, except the Lord, knows completely the timing, nor the exact means of devastation to come upon the earth.
Attempts to set dates or names of the Antichrist have proven futile.
32 But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Hal Lindsey's book written in 1980— Countdown to Armageddon, on page 12 says, “Since the new birth of Israel, the next of the prophecies have begun to be fulfilled quite rapidly. For this reason, I am convinced that we are now in the unique time so clearly forecast by the Hebrew prophets. He went on to say the rapture would take place in the 1980's!
Now, as we come to chapter 8, we must remember:
God had just handed Jesus the book of destiny.
As the seals were broken, a movie-like scene unfolds. (This is the beginning of sorrows.)
In chapter 7, there was an interlude when we saw the 144,000 Jewish witnesses sealed.
There was great rejoicing
As the seventh seal is opened there is world-wide silence (vs. 1)
A calm before the storm
Contrasted to the normal joy and rejoicing in Heaven.
There is even greater judgments coming in this seventh seal.
Why does God bring Tribulation upon the earth?
I heard another pastor say it well:
1. To Wake Up Unbelievers
2. To Shake Up the Nation of Israel
3. To Make Up the Kingdom of God
Just before the Seven Trumpet Judgments begins we see this pause, then we see...
I. The Prayers of the Saints
I. The Prayers of the Saints
2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
Here we are introduced to the seven angels, and seven trumpets — but before the trumpets of judgment sound, another angel comes to the altar in Heaven.
A. God Postpones Judgments to hear Prayers
A. God Postpones Judgments to hear Prayers
3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Some were suffering — Tribulation (Rev. 6:9 - for the Word of God)
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
Some had suffered in ages past.
The day is coming when prayers for mercy will all be answered!
B. God Receives the Prayers
B. God Receives the Prayers
4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand.
Some believe this angel was the high priest.
But in the Old Testament Jesus is referred to as “The Angel of God.”
So some believe this is Jesus.
However the Bible says another angel - meaning “like of the same kind.”
Jesus isn’t an angel.
It isn’t an archangel either - he is like the other seven.
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown says, “another angel--not Christ, as many think; for He, in Revelation, is always designated by one of His proper titles; though, doubtless, He is the only true High Priest, the Angel of the Covenant, standing before the golden altar of incense, and there, as Mediator, offering up His people’s prayers, rendered acceptable before God through the incense of His merit. Here the angel acts merely as a ministering spirit (Heb 1:4), just as the twenty-four elders have vials full of odors, or incense, which are the prayers of saints (Re 5:8).
But there is no doubt that this angel seems to approach the altar and take incense in a rather priest-like fashion.
C. God Prepares for Judgment
C. God Prepares for Judgment
(For answer to prayer)
5 And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
13 Before the Lord: for he cometh, For he cometh to judge the earth: He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the people with his truth.
The aroma of the prayers go up to God, and the judgment of God is prepared to go down to the Earth.
II. The Power of the Judgments
II. The Power of the Judgments
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
Seven angels and seven trumpets await their assignments.
These judgments are not merely judicial, they are also merciful — Revelation 9:20
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
A. The First Trumpet - Hail, Fire and Blood
A. The First Trumpet - Hail, Fire and Blood
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
There is a fierce storm
Now back in Revelation 7:2-3 we saw four angels on the four extremes of the earth getting ready to hurt the earth and sea, but they weren’t ready yet.
2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
But now the storm is come, here we are told that hail and fire mingled with blood came down.
Destruction of one-third of world's crops - third of all trees and grass destroyed
It is mingled with blood, which probably indicates many will die.
22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
Also makes me think of Sodom and Gomorrah.
So, 1/3 of the earth is burned up
1/3 of the trees burned up
All Green Grass is burned up.
This is going to have devastating affects on the planet.
B. The Second Trumpet - Meteor
B. The Second Trumpet - Meteor
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
I call it a meteor, because the dictionary definition of meteor is - a small body of matter from outer space that enters the earth's atmosphere
A Mountain Explosion perhaps, a volcano or maybe a meteorite - remember that John is in the first century, so he is using like/as to describe what he can’t identify.
1/3 of the sea becomes blood - from the sea creatures and people in the ships that have died.
1/3 of sea life is killed.
1/3 of sea vessels are destroyed.
The world’s ships including our fleet and the world's fishing industry — one-third destroyed.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, And the stumblingblocks with the wicked; And I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord.
Imagine the stench and the fumes, and the smoke!
It will be hard to breathe!
50,000 merchants on the sea at any one time, there are over 100,000 ships in the world according to stats in 2022.
one third will be destroyed.
That is anywhere between 16,000-34,000 ships destroyed along with 1/3 of the sea life.
C. The Third Trumpet
C. The Third Trumpet
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
Great Meteor Shower
Great Star — “Wormwood” — a bitter plant in Palestine
Jer. 9:15 — I will feed them with Wormwood, a picture of God’s judgment back then.
Now this meteor (a small body of matter from outer space) will bring judgment
The results: One-third of the fresh water supply is polluted.
Because of this many die.
Judgment upon ungodly and the Antichrist
D. The Fourth Trumpet - Light Darkened
D. The Fourth Trumpet - Light Darkened
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
An eclipse?
a plague of darkness?
How will this be accomplished, I don’t know.
But all light sources are darkened by 1/3.
Some believe that the day/night cycle will be disrupted.
But I’m not sure that matches up with what the Bible says.
But 1/3 of the light will be dimmed.
However, the climatological consequences will be immediate and severe.
What will plant life do when one third of the available solar energy is suddenly gone?
What will happen, with the weather and now the sudden drop in temperature that results from greatly diminished sunlight?
How will that affect animal life once nighttime temperatures in the winter hemisphere drop dramatically?
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
In the first four trumpet judgments:
1/3 of the earth is burned up, with 1/3 trees and all grass.
1/3 of the sea becomes blood - and 1/3 of sea life and sea vessels are destroyed
1/3 of all fresh water is made bitter and/or poisonous.
1/3 of the daylight is taken away.
But this is nothing compared to what is about to come in the 5th, 6th and 7th trumpets.
Before we get there (next week), we see this angel flying through the heaven crying out Woe, Woe, Woe…this is...
III. The Preparation for Great Woes
III. The Preparation for Great Woes
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!
There is an indication that man's unbelief worsens.
Yes, many are saved, but most harden their hearts...
Sometimes people ask, “If a loved one rejects Christ now, can he be saved then?”
The truth is it is a dangerous thing to reject!
The three woes represent the 5th, 6th, and 7th Trumpet Judgment.
The Trumpet Judgment announces the last half of the Tribulation. (God will increase the forces of tribulation upon the earth).
In trumpets 5 & 6 we see words like, star, locusts, scorpions, Abaddon/Apollyon, angels who are bound, army.
These are demonic forces who are allowed by God to torment but not to kill them for five months.
Angels that are bound (demons) will be released and will kill 1/3 of mankind (estimated 1 billion people that are left).
But we will talk about that next week.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Even though that is a terrible place to stop, we will talk about it next week, Lord willing.
While we may not know when judgment is coming, we can be sure that powerful judgments interspersed with mercy are coming to this earth.