back to indexWed Bible Study - Revelation Lesson 10
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Heavenly Father, we come before you desiring to know your Word. 00:00:12.500 |
We pray that our study would lead us to a greater and more specific vision of who you 00:00:20.900 |
Help us, Lord God, not to be caught off guard like the world, that your coming would be 00:00:27.420 |
Help us, Lord, to watch carefully that we may live sober lives, knowing, Father, that 00:00:35.680 |
Help us to know the signs of the times, Lord God, that we may live lives truly worthy of 00:00:43.480 |
We ask that you would bless this time, that your Word would go forth and that your people 00:00:47.900 |
would hear the voice of your Son, Jesus, and that they may follow him. 00:00:55.180 |
All right, so we're looking at chapter eight of the book of Revelation. 00:01:04.380 |
So if you look at the picture that I got from Google here, you'll see each one of these 00:01:14.820 |
horns actually depicts the picture that you hopefully remember from your reading. 00:01:21.460 |
So just get a one glimpse and you kind of digest that, okay? 00:01:27.780 |
Just type in "seven trumpets of Revelation" and boom, there it is. 00:01:38.940 |
So in the beginning, in Revelation chapter eight, remember there was a, if you remember 00:01:43.820 |
the seven seals, that the first four seals, what were the first four seals? 00:02:14.700 |
And then after that, the fifth seal is talking about the martyrs, right? 00:02:20.220 |
And then the sixth seal, there's an intense judgment on the sixth seal. 00:02:22.940 |
And then there's kind of a parenthetical statement. 00:02:26.180 |
Chapter seven was a description of the 144,000. 00:02:31.060 |
And then it describes the multitudes that are seen in heaven when they're all in worship, 00:02:36.980 |
And then chapter eight begins with the last seal, the seventh seal. 00:02:41.460 |
Remember the question I asked you, like if you look at the seven seals and the seven 00:02:46.380 |
trumpets and the seven bowl judgments, like are they overlapping each other? 00:02:51.380 |
Or are the seven trumpets, like within the seventh seal and the seventh seal, it opens 00:03:01.700 |
I just want you to think for a little bit, right? 00:03:15.340 |
Or seven different judgments that are overlapping each other, seven seals, seven trumpets, the 00:03:23.260 |
seven bowls, it's talking about the seven different things, but it's talking about the 00:03:30.420 |
Or is it seven years and then on the seventh year, it opens up the seventh trumpet. 00:03:38.020 |
And then at the end of the seventh, at the seventh, was it the trumpet, it opens up the 00:03:50.620 |
I just want you to be thinking about it because obviously if you're trying to look for the 00:03:56.140 |
application of some of these things, it would make a big difference if you're looking at 00:04:01.140 |
it as this increasing and intensified, or if it's seven years just overlapping, talking 00:04:10.940 |
Now, remember we talked about there are different approaches to the interpretation of the book 00:04:16.620 |
So, if you happen to be a part of the group that looks at the book of Revelation as already 00:04:21.940 |
fulfilled prophecies, meaning that it was talking about Rome, it was talking about the 00:04:28.500 |
Roman soldiers coming in and destroying the temple and all of this judgment is allegorical 00:04:35.900 |
If you believe or if you've been taught that that's how we ought to look at Revelation, 00:04:41.500 |
these are all fulfilled prophecies that happened. 00:04:45.820 |
And so, when you read the commentaries, they're going to tell you that it looks like these 00:04:50.060 |
are the Romans and this is what happened in AD 90 or the gathering of the early church, 00:04:55.500 |
but these are all fulfilled prophecies, right? 00:04:57.660 |
Now, again, you don't have to answer me, but if you look at the prophecies that are laid 00:05:02.940 |
out so far up to where we've come, remember I told you that you're going to see an increase 00:05:13.340 |
And I'm sure you probably noticed it already. 00:05:15.860 |
The trumpet judgments are much more intense than the judgments that you saw with the seal 00:05:22.860 |
And then the bowl judgments are always going to take it to a next level. 00:05:26.340 |
So if you haven't read the bowl judgments, you're probably wondering what could possibly 00:05:30.300 |
happen that's going to be even more intense than what you've seen, but that's exactly 00:05:38.620 |
Now, if you were to try to apply that in the first century as it being fulfilled, in my 00:05:44.780 |
opinion it's very difficult to apply that because it's extremely grossly exaggerated, 00:05:50.300 |
meaning a third of the heavens, a third of the sea, a third of mankind. 00:05:54.940 |
You know, I mean, so unless you're interpreting a third as, you know, a certain small portion, 00:06:00.340 |
a third represents a number of something and you have to allegorically apply it, it's really 00:06:04.580 |
difficult to apply that, you know, unless you really allegorize every single thing that 00:06:13.180 |
That's why I think it's very difficult to try to see that all that was fulfilled in 00:06:17.780 |
the first century, that it seems like to me that this is revelation of some intense judgment 00:06:22.980 |
that's coming at some point in the future, and I think that's the best way to look at 00:06:31.620 |
It opens up the seventh seal and it doesn't tell us a whole lot about that other than 00:06:40.260 |
So there seems to be a kind of a pause of silence and presence of God or before God 00:06:46.460 |
So in the Bible, whenever there is a moment of pause or silence, it's because there's 00:06:51.140 |
a sense of awe, either God has showed up and they're in terror or fear, or God is about 00:06:58.420 |
to speak and say something and so everybody's just kind of staying hushed and silent and 00:07:02.540 |
it seems kind of like that's what's happening, right? 00:07:09.860 |
All right, so the two verses I put up there in Zephaniah 1-7, it says, "Be silent before 00:07:15.100 |
the Lord God for the day of the Lord is near. 00:07:17.140 |
The Lord has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests." 00:07:21.420 |
So the Lord is about to bring judgment and he says, "Be silent." 00:07:24.940 |
And Zechariah 2-13, "Be silent all flesh before the Lord for he has roused himself 00:07:32.120 |
So not just these two verses, I mean, I can find many other passages where God, right 00:07:37.060 |
before he acts, there's kind of a dramatic pause, almost kind of like he wants everybody 00:07:43.180 |
to pay attention to what either he's going to say or what he's going to do. 00:07:47.860 |
And in this case, clearly what he's about to do. 00:07:50.500 |
So there's a moment of silence and considering what we see after and each one of these trumpet 00:07:56.820 |
judgments come and it's just devastation after devastation. 00:08:01.060 |
If one thing doesn't wipe you out, the next thing comes and if you somehow survive that, 00:08:04.660 |
the next thing comes and it just kind of keeps adding and then you think you're kind of at 00:08:09.300 |
the end and then boom, you have the seal judgments that's going to come in. 00:08:13.580 |
You know, when I thought about this, this moment of silence before the trumpets are, 00:08:18.220 |
you know, we move on to the trumpet judgments. 00:08:19.780 |
I remember, I don't know, some of you guys may remember, I don't know how old you were 00:08:23.460 |
when 9/11 happened, but I remember I got a phone call from somebody who was my youth 00:08:29.900 |
student years ago and I haven't talked to her in a while and then she called me out 00:08:34.900 |
of the blue early in the morning and she said, "Hey, Peter, you got to turn on the television 00:08:40.180 |
And I turn on and the plane, the first plane has already crashed and it was burning. 00:08:45.380 |
Now, you know, for a split second, it's so surreal because the Twin Tower in New York 00:08:51.860 |
is kind of like the, what do you call it, the Statue of Liberty. 00:08:55.540 |
I mean, that's been there as long as I can remember. 00:08:59.340 |
It was one of the main things that you think of when you think of United States, it was 00:09:02.660 |
Twin Tower and to have it, an airplane crashed and then seeing that burning and then hearing 00:09:08.140 |
all these other news about how another plane is headed toward the Pentagon and how that 00:09:14.020 |
And then I remember watching this thing and then right in the middle of watching it, another 00:09:18.900 |
plane crashes into the other tower, you know, and this is all live on television. 00:09:23.380 |
And obviously the whole country is just, we were just shocked and all, just probably in 00:09:29.540 |
silence and then not too long after that, the first one drops and the thought of, oh 00:09:35.020 |
my gosh, that building probably holds at least 40, 50,000 people, you know, and then it crashed. 00:09:41.100 |
So we don't know exactly how many, at that time, we didn't know exactly how many people 00:09:45.580 |
And then there's this, this, this sense of, I didn't call it like dread that the other 00:09:55.180 |
And I remember thinking about that and I remember reading this and thinking about this dead 00:09:58.980 |
silence that falls on, on, in heaven for 30 minutes as that kind of scene, like you, you 00:10:04.140 |
know something terrible is about to happen and it's imminent and it's going to happen, 00:10:09.100 |
it's God ordained, but you, you kind of are watching it and it's going to, it's slowly 00:10:18.620 |
And it just kind of made me think about that scene, that, that, how I felt at that minute, 00:10:25.220 |
And it just shocked, I mean, obviously the whole nation was in shock. 00:10:29.960 |
But that's basically how chapter eight opens, right? 00:10:33.780 |
The last seal is open and this dead silence and the silence isn't everybody just being 00:10:40.460 |
It's dead silence because something, something horrendous is about to happen. 00:10:44.300 |
God's judgment is about to be unleashed and it's almost kind of like heaven knows what's, 00:10:49.940 |
And they're, they're just fearfully and in awe watching. 00:10:55.500 |
Once it opens up and then the trumpets begin to blow, the judgments begin to unravel and 00:11:01.100 |
every one of these judgments could, could be the end of the world, but it just keeps 00:11:11.640 |
So we look, we see the seven angels, they're given seven trumpets to blow to initiate the 00:11:20.940 |
And we're not told exactly who these angels are, but we are told early on in chapter one 00:11:25.500 |
and two that there are seven angels above the seven churches. 00:11:28.820 |
So we're not sure if it's those angels or a different set of angels. 00:11:36.440 |
And the trumpets in the scripture were used for all kinds of purposes. 00:11:39.140 |
I mean, I'm not going to go through all of them, but to either gather people or sign 00:11:44.200 |
of warning for the tribes to, to maybe scatter during times of war. 00:11:51.020 |
Here it seems like it's being blown kind of, kind of like it happens in Zephaniah 1, 14 00:11:57.740 |
and 16, like that, that it's heralding the day of God's wrath. 00:12:05.940 |
The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast. 00:12:12.420 |
A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, 00:12:17.380 |
a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast 00:12:22.500 |
and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. 00:12:27.700 |
I mean, if you, if you think about the way that the second coming of Christ is revealed 00:12:33.300 |
to us in scripture, you know, obviously as Christians, we look forward to the consummation 00:12:41.540 |
But before he does that, before we are caught up into heaven and we are in his bosom for 00:12:51.860 |
And it is going to be like something that we've never seen before. 00:12:56.060 |
And again, that's the silence that comes upon them, the whole heaven. 00:13:01.980 |
And so basically the blowing of the trumpets is a warning sign for everyone to pay attention 00:13:07.580 |
that this is exactly what's happening so that there's no, there's no mistake that this is 00:13:15.460 |
This was not just a mistake that what is about to happen is God ordained. 00:13:21.620 |
So they blow the trumpet, "Hey, God is about to act and it's going to be terrible what's 00:13:27.900 |
But he wants everybody to know that this is not, this is God ordained. 00:13:43.460 |
Right after that in verse three, it says, "Another angel came and stood at the altar 00:13:48.400 |
And he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints and on the golden 00:13:53.180 |
So aside from the seven, it seems like there's another angel that appears and he seems like 00:13:58.540 |
there's, he has more authority than the other seven because he's the one giving instructions 00:14:03.900 |
and he's the one who's throwing out the judgment. 00:14:06.140 |
Now there are several angels in the Bible that actually given names and I'm sure there's 00:14:12.620 |
more than, more than these that are mentioned, but there are two in particular that's of 00:14:18.080 |
The angel Gabriel in Daniel 8, 15 to 27, he appears there and he interprets the visions 00:14:25.660 |
and he's the one who's speaking to Daniel and opening his ears and the minds of people 00:14:32.080 |
so that they can understand the vision of God. 00:14:35.140 |
Luke chapter 119 is where Gabriel appears and he prophesies about the coming of the 00:14:42.140 |
So this angel, it seems like he's not just an ordinary angel. 00:14:51.020 |
But we know that he's not the top angel because there's another angel. 00:14:55.660 |
There's another angel mentioned in the Bible and he's the archangel, the chief angel. 00:15:07.700 |
Michael is called the archangel, meaning that he is the captain. 00:15:17.180 |
So archangel Michael may have been a subordinate to Satan, but after Satan falls, he takes 00:15:27.580 |
Now obviously the other angel that's mentioned is Lucifer, Satan. 00:15:31.660 |
He's also mentioned, but I didn't put that up there. 00:15:34.180 |
So we don't know if this angel, this particular angel that comes and he's the one who's throwing 00:15:38.800 |
the fire down on the earth, but because he's not specifically named by name. 00:15:45.100 |
But again, we know that Michael, archangel Michael and Gabriel, these two are, they appear 00:15:52.040 |
throughout the scriptures and they're the ones who are conveying God's message and speaking 00:15:58.840 |
And again, in Michael, he's mentioned in Jude 9 where speaking of Satan, he says, you know, 00:16:05.860 |
the Lord rebuke you, and then he's rebuking the church at that time for taking Satan lightly. 00:16:12.120 |
That even archangel Michael, you know, not respect as in reverence, but respect his power 00:16:18.340 |
to not to just go against Satan and talk about him loosely like that because he's powerful. 00:16:22.720 |
So you know, if you look at, again, the biblical account, Lucifer was above Michael, right? 00:16:30.380 |
So he's, so in book of Jude verse 9, it tells us to be careful. 00:16:37.420 |
Now again, we don't know if it's one of these two, but it would be fitting if they were 00:16:42.520 |
because that's how they're presented to us in the other parts of scripture. 00:16:46.040 |
So you know, there's a whole spiritual realm that is mentioned in the scripture that we 00:16:53.980 |
don't typically pay a lot of attention to because there's not a lot of details, right? 00:17:00.720 |
In fact, there's other name that we're going to run into, I think in chapter 10, the beast, 00:17:05.840 |
the dragon, there's all these different things that are being presented in the scripture 00:17:10.260 |
that we kind of vaguely know, but we don't really understand the spiritual realm. 00:17:16.920 |
But there's definitely a world that you and I don't understand in the spiritual realm. 00:17:22.480 |
That's why the scripture always says that our God is the God of heaven, earth, and under 00:17:27.920 |
the earth, meaning that there's a, there's all of this is God's creation. 00:17:33.320 |
That it's not just a physical world that exists. 00:17:37.740 |
In fact, the spiritual world in some sense may be more real than this because once we 00:17:44.400 |
die, we're going to be in glorified bodies and we're going to be with Christ, right? 00:17:50.380 |
So again, I think it's interesting for us to think about all this because there's a 00:17:53.360 |
whole aspect of the spiritual realm that we don't really think about, but I think we should. 00:18:00.440 |
I think we should because it's there for a reason. 00:18:03.120 |
There are spiritual things going on that we don't know. 00:18:06.120 |
So there's a spiritual warfare that is going on that the scripture calls us to participate 00:18:12.560 |
That our real war is not against flesh and blood, it says, right? 00:18:18.000 |
It's against spiritual forces of powers in high places. 00:18:23.060 |
So what is being revealed to us in Revelation, right? 00:18:31.640 |
But this is the scene that the scripture tells us is happening in our daily lives, either 00:18:42.360 |
Later on we'll see that in the prayers of the saints, how our prayers are lifted up 00:18:47.240 |
and it plays a role in the unraveling of all of this stuff, right? 00:18:53.800 |
I'll mention it again when we get there, okay? 00:18:59.080 |
The scene in heaven suggests that there is something sacrificial about our prayers, which 00:19:04.960 |
And both the believer and his prayer enter the presence of God by way of the altar. 00:19:08.900 |
So it says in verse four, "In the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints," 00:19:18.480 |
you notice how the incense was something that you offered up at the altar, but along with 00:19:23.920 |
that the prayer of the saints rose before God from the hand of the angel, right? 00:19:28.240 |
"Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on 00:19:32.920 |
the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumbling flashes of lightning, and an earthquake." 00:19:37.800 |
It almost seems like what's about to happen happens as a response to prayer, right? 00:19:47.120 |
Where these prayers and the incense and the sacrifices are going up to God, and then he 00:19:51.160 |
takes these incense, right, and then that's what he throws to the ground. 00:19:57.080 |
And then earthquake and fire and rumbling and flashes, they begin to take place. 00:20:05.320 |
Now why do you think that the saints, our prayers, we don't know exactly how and what 00:20:17.880 |
We're not just onlookers just observing and saying, "Oh, God's acting." 00:20:21.480 |
We are actually in some sense participating through prayer, through spiritual warfare, 00:20:27.000 |
It doesn't say God responded to this particular prayer and he's answering these prayers. 00:20:32.160 |
He doesn't go into the detail, but it does say that in response these incense and these 00:20:37.380 |
prayers go up, and when it receives, is on the throne, and it kind of triggers this judgment 00:20:45.840 |
Now if you think about it, in the previous passage it says that the martyrs were crying 00:20:55.880 |
In the previous, I think it was the fifth seal, the martyrs, they were crying out, "How 00:21:13.600 |
And so, so much of their prayer is basically asking God to step in in this spiritual battle. 00:21:21.400 |
So during all of this happening, it seems like the persecution and the suffering of 00:21:27.000 |
the Christians are increasing, and in that context, as the suffering of the Christians 00:21:31.440 |
are increasing, they are crying out to God, and it is their prayers that this angel takes 00:21:36.400 |
up, and then that triggers the next judgment that comes, right? 00:21:42.680 |
So when the full, remember he says, you know, that he's not going to come, the end is not 00:21:48.520 |
There's other brothers and sisters who are going to be added to this number of martyrs, 00:21:57.460 |
And so it seems like when this judgment happens, is a fullness of number may have come, and 00:22:03.920 |
their prayers, their crying is reaching up to God, and God responds, and then the judgment 00:22:20.600 |
The seven trumpet judgments, before we get into it, are divided into two groups, and 00:22:25.840 |
again, very similar to the seal judgments, if you remember, the four horsemen, and then 00:22:31.520 |
the fifth seal is kind of like a, fifth and sixth seal are different than the first four, 00:22:38.760 |
and then there's almost a break between the sixth and the seventh, and that's exactly 00:22:45.120 |
The first four are natural disasters, just one after another, and then we get to the 00:22:50.040 |
fifth and sixth, it's the judgments differ a bit, and then there's a long break. 00:22:55.200 |
In fact, chapter nine, no, chapter 10 and chapter 11 is kind of a parenthesis, where 00:23:03.240 |
the sixth seal is opened up, and then all these other things are mentioned, it's kind 00:23:08.880 |
And then it doesn't, the seventh trumpet doesn't even open up until end of chapter 11, right? 00:23:15.900 |
So it's kind of like the outline or the break is very similar to the seal judgments, the 00:23:22.260 |
And that's why some people think that maybe this is overlapping, because the theme seems 00:23:32.040 |
Which I already mentioned, the first four are plagues directed toward the world of nature, 00:23:38.280 |
whether it is the mountains or the earth or the sea, but there's intense judgments that 00:23:46.080 |
And then the fifth and sixth are separated from the seventh trumpet in parenthesis, right, 00:23:54.040 |
And then the intensity of this judgment, trumpet judgment, becomes progressively more intense 00:24:08.520 |
So imagine, which we're going to get to in a bit, this judgment is like, if we're not 00:24:18.480 |
mistaken, and this is exactly what's going to happen. 00:24:22.880 |
And I know there's an element in the church that allegorizes all of this stuff, and that 00:24:28.960 |
maybe a lot of this stuff is talking about what happened in the first century and it's 00:24:35.760 |
I don't think that that's the best way to interpret this. 00:24:41.000 |
And I also think that we are, as a church, going to go through the tribulation, because 00:24:46.200 |
the language that I see is that He's going to preserve us through all of this stuff, 00:24:50.400 |
meaning that not to take us out, but to give us strength to test the real faith. 00:24:56.440 |
So people who have real faith and people who don't have faith are going to be changed. 00:25:00.280 |
And one of the reasons why I believe that the best way to interpret all of this is to 00:25:08.080 |
Some of them are obvious that you're not supposed to take it literally, but a lot of 00:25:11.680 |
times, as much as possible, because if you look at the prophecies that are fulfilled 00:25:21.320 |
Where He was born, how He was going to die, how He was going to suffer, somebody was going 00:25:26.480 |
to betray Him, He was going to ride on a donkey, He was going to be nailed on a tree, the leaders 00:25:33.000 |
So if you look at the prophecies that talk about Christ, so much of that was word for 00:25:40.300 |
And Jesus kept on saying over and over again that this has happened to fulfill prophecy, 00:25:47.040 |
And so it seems to me the more consistent way to understand prophecy is to take it as 00:25:52.680 |
literally as possible, because remember, the Jews couldn't understand. 00:25:56.360 |
A lot of the passages that they couldn't understand, they just kind of shelved. 00:26:01.880 |
Going back at it, it says all these things are about me. 00:26:04.360 |
You go to Isaiah 53 and all these prophecies, now we're looking back at it, clearly that 00:26:13.720 |
Christ was going to come and conquer, He's going to be our King, why would He be suffering? 00:26:19.740 |
And so all of these things didn't fit, so they just kind of shelved it. 00:26:26.920 |
So I think we look at the book of Revelation that as much as we can or clearly seems like 00:26:33.440 |
we should interpret literally, that we should take it literally, right? 00:26:39.800 |
Now the reason why I say all of this stuff is if all this stuff is going to happen literally, 00:26:47.440 |
think about the devastation that's coming before He comes to redeem His church. 00:26:52.700 |
Think about what's going to happen to this earth. 00:26:54.380 |
Think about what's going to happen to the people. 00:26:57.080 |
And all the time invested to make this place a beautiful place, heaven on earth, like preserve 00:27:06.280 |
I'm not against recycling, but I'm just saying like so much time and effort and energy and 00:27:12.420 |
heartache is going into preserving this place when the scripture says that God is going 00:27:22.660 |
So again, I'm not against recycling, I'm not against social justice, all that stuff. 00:27:27.120 |
I think Christians should be responsible, but our primary duty should be to save people 00:27:37.080 |
Primary duty, primary motivation for Christians is to save people from the wrath of God that's 00:27:45.080 |
Whether we fully understand how it's going to be fulfilled or not, the intention is so 00:27:49.120 |
that we would live soberly and that we would evangelize other people knowing that this 00:27:57.000 |
And Luke chapter 21, 25, 26, Jesus says, "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars 00:28:03.240 |
and on the earth distress of nations and perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the 00:28:07.800 |
waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming in the world 00:28:12.360 |
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken." 00:28:14.440 |
So Jesus himself said that these are signs that you ought to be watching for. 00:28:32.360 |
And you'll notice that the term "a third," "a third of the heavens," "a third of the 00:28:38.260 |
So first thing that he says in verse 7, "The first angel blew his trumpet and there followed 00:28:49.500 |
hail fire mixed with blood and these are thrown upon the earth and a third of the earth was 00:28:54.780 |
burned up and a third of the trees were burned up and all the green grass was burned up." 00:29:00.700 |
So the first trumpet blows and right off the bat, just utter devastation, a third. 00:29:08.500 |
A third of the trees being burned up, which means that all the fruits needed for food 00:29:13.820 |
So again, because you and I don't live in the farm and we go to the supermarket to get 00:29:19.160 |
So imagine if you were living at that time saying a third of the trees are being burnt 00:29:25.180 |
You know, it would be equivalent to saying like a third of the supermarkets are going 00:29:29.980 |
A third of the resource for whatever that sustains you is going to be wiped out. 00:29:34.900 |
So imagine the kind of famine that's going to create, right? 00:29:38.420 |
Not only a third of the trees, but what does it mean for a third of the grass? 00:29:43.300 |
You know, people primarily, either you were a fisherman or you were a carpenter, but a 00:29:49.700 |
lot of people were living off the land and your wealth was measured by your livestock. 00:29:54.660 |
So you had goat or you had sheep or cows or whatever. 00:29:58.180 |
So if all the third of the grass is wiped out, what does that mean? 00:30:08.720 |
So today we may think all grass is gone and say, "Oh, our house is going to look ugly," 00:30:13.260 |
you know, because we don't think of grass as food or somehow sustaining us. 00:30:17.340 |
But think of it at that time when all the grass is gone, it basically means no livestock. 00:30:28.740 |
And then the second, verses eight and nine, right? 00:30:34.780 |
So not only the third of the earth, the trees and all of the grass, but even the sea. 00:30:41.340 |
Verse eight, "The second angel blew his trumpet and something like a great mountain burning 00:30:46.060 |
with fire was thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood." 00:31:01.220 |
So it says, "The trumpet, something like a great mountain burning with fire." 00:31:18.060 |
Could be a comet, falling star maybe, volcano maybe, right? 00:31:26.060 |
We don't know, but when I think of mountain burning, the first image that I have is maybe 00:31:32.620 |
a volcano, but this volcano has to be gigantic because it's going to destroy a third, right? 00:31:39.420 |
Third thrown into the sea and a third of the sea became blood. 00:31:43.380 |
And it said, "A third of the living creatures in the sea died and a third of the ships were 00:31:50.300 |
But everything that we know, even the ships will be destroyed. 00:31:52.860 |
That's how devastating this is going to be, whether that's an earthquake or maybe a comet, 00:31:57.900 |
A lot of people, I remember when I was younger, you know, like pastors or people would give 00:32:04.900 |
seminars on the end times and whenever they would get to these scenes, they would always 00:32:10.300 |
equate it to a nuclear fallout because the devastation is so huge. 00:32:16.060 |
Like what could possibly happen that a third, right? 00:32:22.900 |
Volcano is not going to destroy a third, but maybe an earthquake, maybe an asteroid, right? 00:32:32.540 |
And then some people say it could be a nuclear bomb, maybe. 00:32:41.820 |
It says a third of the creatures are going to be destroyed in the sea. 00:32:44.540 |
So the livelihood for their food, even in the sea. 00:32:49.860 |
It's like, "Oh, we're safe because we don't have livestock." 00:32:53.300 |
It's like, "Well, even fishermen are going to be affected by that." 00:32:58.220 |
And at that time, at least, you know, where they are in Galilee, obviously more people, 00:33:07.540 |
But the devastation, the point is that devastation is going to be very thorough and no one's 00:33:29.460 |
The third trumpet, the plague is going to consist of burning star that falls from the 00:33:37.620 |
sky and the inland water is turning bitter and causing the death of many people. 00:33:42.140 |
This is where I remember very specifically a pastor was giving a seminar on this. 00:33:47.580 |
And you know, like, I don't know if you've ever been to a seminar about like, you know, 00:33:51.340 |
not to get chips in your arm or tattoos that's the mark of the beast. 00:33:55.020 |
And you know, the Left Behind series kind of got everybody stirred up when that book 00:34:00.140 |
first came out and they made a movie out of it. 00:34:02.140 |
So a lot of people were talking about the end times, even in Presbyterian churches, 00:34:07.580 |
because that movie like really made an impact on everybody. 00:34:10.420 |
And I remember one of the things specifically he said, he mentioned this particular passage 00:34:37.820 |
And so the word wormwood is equated in scripture with something bitter. 00:34:43.660 |
God's going to bring judgment and honey is going to turn to wormwood. 00:34:49.100 |
You know, what's interesting is, again, when I was younger, a pastor was giving this seminar 00:34:52.700 |
and he said, and he thinks that this judgment, this particular judgment is a nuclear fallout. 00:34:59.380 |
And the reason why he believed that and he was saying it's being fulfilled was, you know, 00:35:05.300 |
some of you guys may remember, no, you're not going to remember, but you probably read 00:35:09.500 |
Remember the Chernobyl, the nuclear fallout and it destroyed thousands of people, homes, 00:35:16.580 |
and it's still abandoned today because of the fallout. 00:35:28.460 |
I didn't believe it either, but it's called Wormwood. 00:35:38.220 |
So I remember that pastor was going nuts over this. 00:35:40.540 |
Like this Wormwood, you see it's being fulfilled, it's happening now. 00:35:45.780 |
Whether it is or not, I thought it was interesting that a lot of this massive devastation, like 00:35:52.100 |
what could cause a third of the earth, a third of this, a third of the sea? 00:35:58.020 |
I mean, it doesn't mean it has to be, but it could be. 00:36:08.180 |
But only other thing is, let me before we get to that, whether it is a nuclear fallout 00:36:14.940 |
or whether it's natural, I think one thing that is going to be for sure that there's 00:36:21.660 |
Remember when 9/11 happened, a lot of people were like, "Oh, this is a judgment from God," 00:36:26.180 |
or you know, when that tsunami hit Indonesia and all these hundreds of thousands of people 00:36:32.180 |
"Oh, that's judgment from God," and there's debate even within the church. 00:36:35.380 |
I think the only difference at the end when devastation comes, whether it comes through 00:36:38.980 |
natural disaster or through maybe a World War III or nuclear bomb, that there isn't 00:36:44.300 |
going to be any debate that God did it, that this is the judgment of God, because it clearly 00:36:51.500 |
At the end of all of this, the response from people is that because God is coming to judge, 00:36:59.740 |
They harden their hearts even further, meaning that they know full well that it was God, 00:37:06.380 |
So that's the difference at the end when these things happen. 00:37:09.660 |
It's not going to be like, "Oh, is God in this?" 00:37:11.500 |
It's like, no, God is coming and it's going to be for sure, it's going to be known that 00:37:17.780 |
The fourth trumpet is where we're going to be ending today. 00:37:20.100 |
The third of the sun, moon, stars were struck with a blow that darkened them for a third 00:37:29.540 |
So if you really think about it, and all the other devastations that happen, and just darkness 00:37:34.980 |
a third of the night doesn't seem as bad, but in Scripture, darkness is always symbolism 00:37:50.780 |
In fact, it almost seems like, remember when we talked about, Dr. Harris talked about the 00:37:55.020 |
darkness that fell upon from 12 to 3, and it was God coming to judge His Son? 00:38:00.700 |
And again, he made that case about how every important ratification of a covenant, God 00:38:06.900 |
appears and He kind of covers because men cannot stand to be in the presence of His 00:38:12.820 |
That it almost seems like the earth goes dark because God is appearing, and when He appears, 00:38:19.340 |
Because unless you're covered by the blood of Christ, when God appears, you die. 00:38:25.980 |
And so it almost seems like the fourth judgment that's going to come is going to be devastating. 00:38:32.780 |
And then finally, the fourth trumpet judgment concludes with a cry from an eagle saying, 00:38:38.260 |
"Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth." 00:38:40.620 |
So these three woes are prophecy of the next three judgments that are coming, the fifth, 00:38:47.060 |
So obviously, woe is prophecy of judgment coming, and then it's threefold, woe, woe, 00:38:53.060 |
So remember, we learned that anything that is repeated in Scripture is for the purpose 00:39:00.020 |
So truly, truly, I say to you means pay attention. 00:39:05.580 |
When it says God is holy, holy, holy, means that that's highlighted above all of His other 00:39:14.200 |
So it's in reference to the woes that are coming, the next three judgments that are 00:39:17.940 |
coming is going to be escalating in intensity. 00:39:20.380 |
So can you imagine that we're only halfway through the judgments and the woes haven't 00:39:29.020 |
The woes are coming, the three woes are coming. 00:39:30.820 |
So that's where we're ending today, and we're going to get to chapter nine, and the real 00:39:36.580 |
So all of this stuff, it lays out in Revelation, again, so that we would pay attention, so 00:39:45.360 |
So if you know any of this and you're looking for it, how can you possibly miss this, right? 00:39:52.580 |
Unless you're just not paying attention at all. 00:39:55.220 |
And if you are paying attention, you're looking for this, how can that not affect you, right? 00:40:00.260 |
If you really believe that this devastation is coming upon mankind, and then just kind 00:40:04.860 |
of like, "Oh, yeah, I learned some stuff in Revelation, and I'm just going to go back 00:40:10.300 |
to my normal life and then just save money and retire and die," right? 00:40:16.220 |
Either you believe this, and then you live according to the knowledge of what is coming 00:40:21.300 |
and to live soberly, knowing that this world is going to pass, or you don't believe it, 00:40:29.500 |
You can't read this and believe this, and then just kind of live like everybody else. 00:40:35.540 |
And it is not me, it is not the church, it is not our generation. 00:40:39.420 |
The truth that we profess requires it, right? 00:40:43.500 |
The gospel of Jesus Christ requires us to make a commitment, not to just tag along, 00:40:59.980 |
The three woes, the warning of the severity of the three remaining judgments that is about 00:41:03.580 |
to be unleashed in the second half of the trumpets blowing. 00:41:08.820 |
And then let me go over the questions with you real quick. 00:41:16.260 |
Do you think that non-Christians in our area? 00:41:17.860 |
Okay, and again, not world, because we don't know, but in particular where we live, in 00:41:24.060 |
our area, know that the Bible teaches an intense end-time judgment for those who do not believe, 00:41:30.220 |
So when you talk to non-Christians, do they know that the scripture, the God of love that 00:41:37.900 |
is constantly being presented to the world, that do you think that they know that judgment 00:41:43.140 |
is coming and just the intensity of this judgment, right? 00:41:48.500 |
And these are, all of this, as horrific as these are, these are warnings, right? 00:41:58.180 |
All of these things are a warning to, hopefully, some might turn from their sins and not go 00:42:11.100 |
What you are seeing in this is not the final judgment. 00:42:13.460 |
The final judgment is when this is all over and the great white throne judgment comes, 00:42:18.100 |
and then the other side of that is the real judgment for eternity. 00:42:21.860 |
So as devastating as this is, this is not the end. 00:42:26.600 |
So do you think that the non-Christians around us understand and know this, right? 00:42:35.900 |
I think, humanly speaking, we think this is going to turn people off. 00:42:39.360 |
So in our wisdom, in our compassion, we think we're doing them a favor by not emphasizing 00:42:46.100 |
this, because I know how they're going to respond. 00:42:52.460 |
You're basically telling God that the information you've given is going to scare people. 00:42:59.080 |
What God has revealed to us to save mankind, I'm going to take some of this off, because 00:43:09.780 |
Think how arrogant that is to present the gospel that was presented to us in this way, 00:43:14.920 |
to cut some of this off and saying, "God, you don't know my friends. 00:43:20.780 |
So it is beyond presumptuous, arrogant, for us to leave any part of this out. 00:43:25.740 |
I'm not saying that we go out and all we're doing is preaching judgment, but if we're 00:43:30.140 |
going to declare the clear gospel, you have to present the whole gospel. 00:43:34.740 |
If we're going to say that Jesus is going to save us, you have to tell them what he's 00:43:43.780 |
Two, should we interpret all natural disasters today as God's judgment? 00:43:51.660 |
Anytime there's a big disaster that happens, that becomes a big debate. 00:43:59.880 |
Three, take some time to pray for the non-Christians in your life that God would open their eyes 00:44:11.640 |
If you knew that this was going to happen, if you were the first century Christian and 00:44:15.280 |
you read this and there's a real possibility that this may happen, how would you respond? 00:44:20.120 |
I think a lot of you responded by evangelism. 00:44:23.720 |
That would be the, whatever it is that you're doing, wouldn't seem as important as telling 00:44:28.920 |
So let's take some time to think about the non-Christians in our lives, the people that 00:44:32.560 |
we know, maybe not know, and be intentional about sharing the gospel with them. 00:44:37.880 |
All right, let me pray first and then I'll let you guys get to your small group. 00:44:48.560 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your living word. 00:44:54.600 |
We thank you that you've opened our eyes to see the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:44:59.920 |
Help us to be humble, to receive all that you have, that more than simply wanting to 00:45:04.920 |
do the right thing, help us, Lord, to hunger and thirst for you, and that our desire to 00:45:11.240 |
honor you, to glorify you, to worship you would lead to a clear understanding of all 00:45:19.280 |
Help us, Lord God, to love you and to love our neighbors as ourselves, that that would 00:45:23.840 |
be our greatest passion, greatest investment, and greatest energy and money spent, Father 00:45:30.880 |
And so for that end, we pray for your blessing. 00:45:33.080 |
We pray for all the small group time, Lord, that you would bless that time as well.