Witness in the Midst of Woe
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
What is this a picture of?
Timeline of Revelation
Chapters 4-19, tribulation
Chapter 20, 2nd coming of Christ, Great White Throne judgment, Christ’s Millennial kingdom
Chapter 20-21 New heaven and new earth
What has happened prior to chapter 8?
John’s vision of the risen Christ
Letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor
John’s vision of the four creatures and 24 elders
Worthy is the lamb!
7 seal judgments
Chapters 8-11
1. Trumpet Judgments 1-6
1. Trumpet Judgments 1-6
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand in the presence of God; seven trumpets were given to them. 3 Another angel, with a golden incense burner, came and stood at the altar. He was given a large amount of incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, went up in the presence of God from the angel’s hand. 5 The angel took the incense burner, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
2. The Mighty Angel and the Small Scroll
2. The Mighty Angel and the Small Scroll
1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head. His face was like the sun, his legs were like pillars of fire, 2 and he held a little scroll opened in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea, his left on the land, 3 and he called out with a loud voice like a roaring lion. When he cried out, the seven thunders raised their voices. 4 And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders said, and do not write it down!”
8 Then the voice that I heard from heaven spoke to me again and said, “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth.” 10 Then I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It was as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I ate it, my stomach became bitter.
What do you think the little scroll represented?
How should we view God’s judgment?
Jesus - “Father, forgive them...”
Also Stephen as he was stoned
How about God’s judgment on the Egyptians? The Canaanites?
4 The Lord has prepared everything for his purpose— even the wicked for the day of disaster.
19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.
9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and the testimony they had given. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, the one who is holy and true, how long until you judge those who live on the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 So they were each given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer until the number would be completed of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters, who were going to be killed just as they had been.
3. Two Witnesses
3. Two Witnesses
1 Then I was given a measuring reed like a rod, with these words: “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who worship there. 2 But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Don’t measure it, because it is given to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for 1,260 days, dressed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone wants to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and consumes their enemies; if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this way. 6 They have authority to close up the sky so that it does not rain during the days of their prophecy. They also have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every plague whenever they want.
Finally they will be killed by “the beast that comes out of the abyss” and the whole world will rejoice! But 3.5 days later they will be resurrected and ascend to Heaven in a cloud.
4. The 7th Trumpet
4. The 7th Trumpet
15 The seventh angel blew 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. 16 The twenty-four elders, who were seated before God on their thrones, fell facedown and worshiped God, 17 saying, We give you thanks, Lord God, the Almighty, who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18 The nations were angry, but your wrath has come. The time has come for the dead to be judged and to give the reward to your servants the prophets, to the saints, and to those who fear your name, both small and great, and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth. 19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant appeared in his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and severe hail.
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
• How does knowing that God is Judge change the way we live our daily lives? Should it change how we interact with others? How and why? • What does true repentance really look like? Would you say repentance is hard to do? Why or why not? • As the seventh trumpet sounds in Revelation 11:15 John once more sees a picture of heaven. How would you describe the impact of the seventh trumpet? Consider verse 18 especially. Compare the title of God given in Revelation 11:17 to 4:8. What is different? Why? • Re-read the words of the elders in Revelation 11:17-18. What are some key observations about their prayer? • What rewards do you already experience in your life as a result of your faith in Christ? • Where in our lives could we see God’s judgment as preventing us from pleasure, and how can we transform that into viewing God’s judgment as life-giving?