The Seven Trumpets
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· 1 viewThis picture of God’s sovereignty through certain judgment is another reminder intended to encourage believers as they face suffering and tribulation amidst the spiritual battle.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Well, good morning!
If you have a Bible, and I hope that you do, turn with me to Revelation chapter 8. Listen, this morning, as we continue on, we’re gonna cover the largest section of text we have so far in this study…we’re gonna walk through chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11.
And listen, you’re probably sitting there thinking one of two things…one, in light of everything we’ve talked about these past few weeks, “how in the world are we gonna walk through four chapters of Revelation in one sermon?” Or two, you might be thinking, “But I really wanna hear about all these trumpets and what it means and when I can expect these things to happen…I wanna know what Pastor Steven thinks these trumpets are and what the signs and times are gonna be…I wanna know about these two witnesses in Revelation…Four chapters?…Four chapters isn’t gonna give us enough time to get all my questions answered…I wanna know how and when and what it all means.”
Guys, as we continue to walk through this book…we can’t lose sight of the context here. We can’t lose sight of the people Revelation was written to. We can’t, even for a minute, take ourselves out of their shoes. We have to read and listen to Revelation in light of these first Christians John was addressing here. And listen, when we do that…when we find ourselves in their context…Revelation, it begins to make much more sense…If you remember, when we started this series, while we might disagree on a lot of the details in this book…I challenged you to constantly approach the text asking yourself, “What is the clear, simple, plain meaning of the text.” Jesus inspired these words…He instructed John to write them down and send them out so that ordinary believers, like you and me…He did this so that these words could be understood and applied in a real, immediate way. And as I’ve mentioned over and over again, the things we’re reading about, the things we’re walking through each week…it can’t mean today for us, what it never could’ve meant for them 2,000 years ago. It can’t mean today, what the rest of the Bible can’t explain itself. We, as God’s people today…people who are faithful to God’s Word…who cling to God’s Word…we must always use Scripture to interpret Scripture.
And listen, when we do that…what we realize, its that oftentimes, in apocalyptic literature, the writer repeats his points multiple times…he tells the story in different ways or from different perspectives to maybe emphasize different points. We even see the same thing in narrative genres like Genesis for example, where the same two stories are presented in two different ways to present two different points about who God is and how we’re to respond. Genesis 1 and 2 are a great example of this. Genesis 1, it talks about creation and then Genesis 2 rewinds backwards and talks about it all over again. We have to use the pattern of Scripture to help us interpret difficult text. And listen, I believe that’s what John’s doing here in Revelation. It’s what we see with the 7 seals and the 7 trumpets that we’re gonna talk about today…its the same as the 7 bowls…each are telling the same story to emphasize a different point about God and what He’s calling His people to do. Its not a chronological account of events.
And remember, this is directed to Christians experiencing persecution that we could never relate to in our current context. This is actually why we’re the only Christians on the earth today that actually fight about how to interpret this book…Its not really debated in other places where they’re facing persecution, because they get it…they understand the purpose…they’re able to keep the main thing the main thing because they need that encouragement too. They’re facing real struggles. They’re engaged in this spiritual battle and some of the people around them…they’re losing these temporary fights…they need encouragement. And I believe Jesus here, He’s having John write about the same thing over and over again because He’s trying to get His people to find rest in Him amidst the battle. He’s reminding them of their task…that as Christians, they’re expected to suffer…they’re going to be persecuted as they cling to truth and as they proclaim truth. And these constant reminders, its all meant to be an encouragement to continue on…continue suffering, to keep their eyes on the only One worthy of all praise and glory.
And so, if you remember, in chapter one, we had this majestic picture of Jesus…showing us His power and glory. And then in chapters 2 and 3, we saw Jesus address His church…He called out the good, the bad…He called them to repentance so that they would engage themselves in the battle for the souls of those around them. In chapters 4 and 5, we saw another picture of God, except it really emphasized God’s sovereignty. It pictured His control over all creation…we saw these scrolls, rolled up, in His hand…scrolls that detailed the plans for all of creation…again picturing His sovereignty. It showed Jesus as the only one that could open these scrolls and put into action these plans of God. But notice, it said His people, they were there with Him…they were circling His throne in thrones of their own. They were redeemed and safely secured in the care of the Lamb.
And then in chapters 6 and 7…we saw these scrolls opened up and these four horsemen released…we saw creation calling out to these horsemen. I discussed how I believe they’re a picture of sin and its progression in the world…we talked about God’s sovereignty over sin and His ability to judge sin. We looked at this picture of God’s people and their redemption…we saw how He’s allowing sin to run its course so that His elect could be sealed and clothed in white garments. Everything we’ve looked at…its all been meant to encourage believers in the first century. It’s all been meant to keep them engaged in the battle by showing them the majesty and the glory of God…reminding them of His incredible power. That’s been the point…to show us who’s at the center of all creation and why everything that’s gonna happen is happening…its not, and I repeat…its not meant to give them a set of signs to describe when and how the end’s gonna happen. That’s not the purpose, no matter how you interpret this book. And if you read it that way, you’re gonna miss the blessing that’s found in these pages. Let’s not miss the point of this book…and let’s not be selfish with the Word of God. Let’s work together to interpret it the way God intended so that we can be shaped and conformed into the image of Jesus Christ! Amen?
And so, as we continue on into these next four chapters, I have two main points for us this morning…number 1, amidst the battle, we must earnestly pray for God’s kingdom to come…and number 2, amidst the battle, we must boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And so, if you’re ready, let’s dive into the text.
I. Amidst the battle, we must earnestly pray for God’s kingdom to come (Rev. 8-9)
I. Amidst the battle, we must earnestly pray for God’s kingdom to come (Rev. 8-9)
Point number 1…amidst the battle, we must earnestly pray for God’s kingdom to come.
Listen, as we come to this next section of text…looking at the seven trumpets…I’m persuaded to believe these trumpets, they’re the same thing we saw with the seals in the last two chapters, it’ll be the same thing with the bowls in the next chapters, they’re just being repeated to make another point and to call God’s people to action. If it’s not telling the same story, then we’re gonna see the world destroyed like 4 different times…and things are gonna seem very confusing. Because if you remember, last week, we saw Jesus’s judgement poured out and we saw the world destroyed. If it’s not the same story being retold, why’s the world being destroyed all over again. I think seeing it chronologically, it just creates confusion. Now, this story, It’s still showing God’s sovereignty…but now it’s using that knowledge about God to call believers to action…to do something in light of that sovereignty…and these first two chapters here…they’re exhorting believers to petition a holy God to move amidst an evil and sinful world.
If you’re there with me…just look at the first three verses of chapter 8. It says this:
Revelation 8:1–3 (ESV)
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne,
And so, we see Jesus, He opens the seventh seal…there’s silence in heaven…and then we see God give these trumpets to the angels.
Now, before we get to the application, dealing with prayer, let’s talk about these trumpets. I believe there’s significant symbolism here with these trumpets. All throughout Scripture, we see trumpets blown to warn of coming judgment or to announce victorious salvation. Jesus specifically says in the Gospels that with a trumpet He’ll gather together all people for judgement or for salvation at His return. Trumpets, they’re a proclamation of coming judgement and salvation.
Specifically, Revelation 8 through 11, there’s two Old Testament stories that really seem to parallel with these passages. First, its the plagues that God poured out on Egypt back in Exodus. Most of the images in that account (hail and blood and darkness) they all recall God’s judgements on Pharaoh and the Egyptians for holding His people in captivity. Surprisingly enough, the passover…on the flip side, it’s also a picture of redemption for God’s people.
The other Old Testament story behind the trumpets is Joshua and the battle of Jericho. You’ll remember that God commanded seven priests to sound seven trumpets for seven days, right? And at the end, they all shouted and the walls of Jericho came down…and that was the moment the Israelites officially entered the Promised Land. The imagery here, its eerily similar as seven trumpets blasts progressively…and ultimately pronounce judgement upon sinners and victory for God’s people as they enter into eternity with God!
When you put this Old Testament background together with Revelation 8, you see the first four trumpets blasts depicting systematic, physical judgements across all of creation. With the first trumpet, we see hail and fire coming from heaven and burning up the earth and the trees and the grass. With the second, there’s a mountain hurled into the sea, destroying a third of the ocean’s sea life…and the water, it turns to blood.
The third trumpet, there’s a meteor-like star that falls from heaven, inflicting the earth’s rivers with poison and causing death to those who drink from that water source. The fourth trumpet, a third of the sun and the moon and the stars, they’re struck so that they provide less light…taking us back to the plague of darkness, right? It’s the same image, I think, with the fourth horsemen from last week…the horseman called death, given authority over a fourth of the earth, right?
And the idea here with these first four trumpets, its for us to not put of hope or faith in created things. All things…as we see here…all things, even the things you think are most secure like the sun and the stars…all things in heaven and on earth, they’re all passing away. We see judgements here across all creation…all physical creation.
And then, with the fifth and sixth trumpets we see these personal judgements for idolatry and immorality. The imagery here, its terrifying. It’s not just judgement on physical creation anymore, it’s judgement on mankind…on people made in the image of God.
I mean just look at Revelation 8:13. John writes, “Then I looked and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, ‘Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth.” You remember what I said last week about this phrase? “Those who dwell on the earth?” Its used here to describe unbelievers, people who’ve turned from God…people who live for the world. And pay attention here…its a threefold pronouncement of woe and misery upon all who turn from God.
And then in chapter 9…we begin to see demons torturing such unbelievers in a violent picture of God’s judgement. With the fifth trumpet, the sun, it darkens again…we see the picture of spiritual darkness consume the hearts of men…just like the days of Noah…and for five months locusts (again, remembering the plagues of Egypt) locusts from the pits of hell, they terrorize unbelievers. Smoke, it rises from the abyss as the bottomless pit of hell’s unlocked. Legions of hell are unleashed upon the earth in the form of locusts that look like horses prepared for battle with human faces and lion-like teeth and breastplates of iron. They come with the speed of chariots, and they sting with tails like scorpions. They torment these unbelievers for a set period of time under the direct authority of Satan or one of his lieutenants, and all of this, it takes place under the ultimate authority of God. It’s a fierce and horrific battle, and it causes people to long for death.
And then the second woe, the sixth trumpet…we see a third of mankind wiped out across the earth. (Again, this doesn’t mean this happens chronologically…its imagery here…it’s just building). And then we see these 200 million cavalry, that’s what that number is…demonic warhorses released across all the earth. And they have breastplates like fire and heads like lions and tails like serpents and smoke coming from their mouths, they come to kill and destroy.
Now don’t miss this. In light of all that horrific stuff…Revelation 9:20-21:
Revelation 9:20–21 (ESV)
The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Listen, this is what I meant by terrifying personal judgements for idolatry and immorality. Despite harmful and destructive effects and despite all the things happening around them….these people, they continue to trust in the things of the world! Unbelievers here are depicted like Pharaoh, who despite judgement after judgement, plague after plague, he continued to resist God in sinful rebellion. It’s just a great picture of human depravity here.
And so, why do we have these trumpets? We’ll talk about the seventh in just a moment, but why do we have these? On one hand, we see God giving the world a warning. In God’s judgements upon sin in the world today, God’s warning us to turn from sin. We see this through physical destruction, spiritual deception, natural death, we’re seeing the effects of sin.
But guys, on the other hand…you have to see this…this was the meaning for these first century Christians…God’s calling the church to war. Guys, the picture’s clear in Revelation 8 and 9. It’s clear that there’s spiritual forces of evil and its clear we’re not in peacetime in the world today. We’re at war. And just like the imagery we talked about with Joshua and the battle of Jericho, each passing trumpet, it announces another stage in the battle for God’s people…and these accounts, they should compel us to action.
If you have your Bibles, again notice what brings on these acts of judgement or these trumpets being sounded in the first couple verses of chapter 8. It was the prayers of God’s people.
Guys, as believers today…we recognize how dark our world is…we recognize the spiritual battle waging around us…And listen, it should burden our hearts…it should sadden us that there are people living in these hopeless situations…people experiencing these dark realities that sin brings on. And guys, ultimately, it should cause us to cry out to God.
It might remind you of the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew chapter 6. “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.” As God’s people we should be crying out for restoration…for God to move…for God to act. That’s what Revelation is showing us…God, He moves at the request of His people here. Now it doesn’t take away from His sovereignty…but it does show you His heart. It’s for His people. That’s when He brings wrath and judgement.
And I’m convinced today that many of us, we think we follow Jesus…we think we want the things of God, but we’re so rooted in the things of this world. Remember how John identifies unbelievers in this book…And we’re not petitioning God to move, because if we’re honest, we don’t long for those things…we don’t really long to be with God in that way. And you might be sitting there thinking, “Wait a second…I pray and I long for those things and I’m petitioning God to move.” Dear friend, if our monthly prayer meetings are any inclination of the modern day Christian’s desire to seek the Lord’s action in our world today…we’re in a world of trouble. It seems we’re more rooted in the world…dwellers of the world, more so than we are engaged in the battle we’ve been called to. We should long for a new world and a new creation…we should long for a world without sin and without pain. All things must pass away and our hearts, they should be crying out to God to move.
This passage, it should compel you to action. And listen, this passage…its a reminder that your prayers they’re effective…I mean just look at what it causes God to do. God, who as all authority and all power…all control…He totally and entirely brings judgement upon all creation…judgement that was initiated through the prayers of His people.
And listen, this passage…it reminds us that God is faithful. Our prayers…our emphasis on prayer, it demonstrates our own dependency on God. When we earnestly pray…when we truly long for the things God’s promised…when we petition Him…He will be faithful. It’s the same reason John keeps reaching back to the Old Testament. Everything in the Old Testament, it displays a faithful God that keeps His promises…and how we approach our prayer life…it truly displays to Him and to others, whether or not we believe He’s a faithful God.
The problem…the tragedy with modern day Christianity…its that while on one hand we have this great privilege where we don’t have to be fearful…we don’t have to worry about worshipping or sharing our faith. On the other, this privilege, its caused us to become lazy in the kingdom…its caused us to become complacent with the lives of those we love…and its caused us to lose dependency on the One that performed this great miracle in our lives by allowing us to see truth.
Guys, we have to become a church and we have to become believers that beg God to bring about restoration…we have to stop finding our worth and our value in the things of the world…and we have to start shifting our gaze toward Jesus and His kingdom.
II. Amidst the battle, we must boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rev. 10-11)
II. Amidst the battle, we must boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rev. 10-11)
And then the second and final point…amidst the battle, we must boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Real quickly let me explain what I believe chapters 10 and 11 to be telling us.
Chapters 8 and 9, they present the first six trumpet judgements, but then, between the opening of the sixth and seventh trumpets we see this shift in the story to show the perspective from God’s people. Similar to chapters 6 and 7.
And listen, if you’re taking notes here…the key word in chapters 10 and 11, its “prophet” or “prophesy.” It’s mentioned six times. You might circle them if you want to. We see it in Revelation 10:7…10:11…11:3, 6, 10, and 18.
The emphasis here, its on prophets and what these prophets do…they prophesy, right? And so, what we’re seeing here…in the middle of God’s judgements…what do these prophets do? They speak God’s Word to a sinful and lost world!
Now, let’s go back to chapter 10 for a moment. There’s some weird things going on here…mainly, this little scroll that’s given to John and the command that’s given to John revolving around the little scroll. Now, if you remember…the other scroll…that God held back in chapters 4 and 5, remember that scroll, it contained all of God’s plans for creation, right? From the start of creation to the end of creation. It’s all His plans.
Here’s what I believe the little scroll to be. It’s a copy of the other scroll. A copy that details all of God’s plans, from the start of creation to the end of creation…a copy of God’s plans pointing to and revolving around the person and work of Jesus Christ…Doesn’t that sound familiar? I believe this little scroll, It’s a copy of God’s Word. It’s His Scriptures…revealed, inspired by Himself, through the Holy Spirit.
And notice…what does the angel tell John to do with this little scroll? Verse 9:
Revelation 10:9–11 (ESV)
And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”
It sounds a lot like Matthew 28, right? The mission Jesus gives to the church! Which brings me to chapter 11…who are these two witnesses? Are they literal? Are they symbolic? Remember, John’s not writing this to explain how or when or what these things are…its always about who and why…about Jesus and His kingdom…and so for that reason, I believe these witnesses…its the church…all of us together…digesting God’s Word together…understanding it…being shaped and molded by it…because of the Holy Spirit in us. It’s sweet in our mouths…bitter in our belly’s because of what its proclamation brings about. But these witnesses, its us…proclaiming Christ amidst the battle…amidst pain and suffering…amidst these judgements we’re seeing, Judgements that God’s allowing to be poured out so that His people can be sealed.
And notice…we proclaim because we believe there’s power in His Word to save. We’ve been transformed by it…we’ve digested it…and now we wanna proclaim it because we share the same heart as its Creator.
And listen, I wanna share this…maybe you hold a different view with some of these things…maybe you believe these witnesses, they’re literal people…maybe you don’t see Revelation the same way I’ve been sharing…that’s okay! But dear Christian…if it’s causing you to get angry…if it’s causing you to miss the main idea…you’ve completely missed the point of this book. And you might be angry…you might be sitting there more concerned about the how and when and what…you might not need the encouragement that so many other believers need because you might not be engaged in the battle this book calls you to. You might not see the application here this morning because you’re not engaged and you’re not invested in the advancement of God’s kingdom.
That’s The message here…Jesus and His kingdom…Jesus and His church…Jesus and His heart. I mean just read it…regardless of how you see things here…Jesus’s heart, its for those that don’t know Him…its for those far from Him…its for those heading toward death and damnation, to come to Him…And regardless of who these witnesses are…you have to recognize Jesus sent them to a lost world and that Jesus sent them to communicate hope to a broken world…and dear friend, you have to notice…their mission, its strikingly similar to ours. That’s the heart of Jesus…that’s the message of Revelation. That’s the gospel.
And listen, for us as Christians…here’s what we see through these four chapters…you might write them down. As we obediently proclaim His Word…as we seek to see lives changed through the power of His Word…here’s what these passages show us.
Our light, its unquenchable…our souls, they’re untouchable…our power, its invincible. I love this…our death, it’ll be temporary…our resurrection, it’s sure. Our mission, it’ll be completed…and guys, our God, He will be glorified. That’s the certainty of Revelation.
Let me close with the words to this hymn.
Facing a task unfinished
That drives us to our knees
A need that undiminished
Rebukes our slothful ease
We, who rejoice to know Thee
Renew before Thy throne
The solemn pledge we owe Thee
To go and make Thee known
Where other Lords beside Thee
Hold their unhindered sway
Where forces that defied Thee
Defy Thee still today
With none to heed their crying
For life and love and light
Unnumbered souls are dying
And pass into the night
We go to all the world
With kingdom hope unfurled
No other name has power to save
But Jesus Christ The Lord
We bear the torch that flaming
Fell from the hands of those
Who gave their lives proclaiming
That Jesus died and rose
Ours is the same commission
The same glad message ours
Fired by the same ambition
To Thee we yield our powers
We go to all the world
With kingdom hope unfurled
No other name has power to save
But Jesus Christ The Lord
O Father who sustained them
O Spirit who inspired
Saviour, whose love constrained them
To toil with zeal untired
From cowardice defend us
From lethargy (leh-trr-ge) awake!
Forth on Thine errands send us
To labour for Thy sake
We go to all the world
With kingdom hope unfurled
No other name has power to save
But Jesus Christ The Lord
We go to all the world
His kingdom hope unfurled
No other name has power to save
But Jesus Christ The Lord
Church, let us not forget our task…let us give everything for the sake of making Jesus known! Let us care about those who dwell on the earth.
Closing
Closing
Listen, as we close this morning…we’re gonna do something just a little bit different. Our praise team, they’re gonna come…they’re gonna lead us in the song I just recited to you.
Here’s what I want us to do…I want us stand…and I want us to proudly and excitedly sing this to the Lord.
Can you do that with me this morning?
Let’s do it!