Scorched Earth

As mentioned last week, this brings us into the last half of the tribulation.

Let's look at what events will be taking place as God begins to pour out His judgments.

The Antichrist will be hard at work, and this is the point at which he is seen for who he really is.

The event is referred to as the abomination of desolations, Christ makes mention of this.

The abomination of desolations is the event that will trigger God’s final judgments.

Daniel 9:27

Daniel 9:27 NKJV

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

Matthew 24:15

Matthew 24:15 NKJV

“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),

This is when the antichrist will stand in the temple, and declare himself to be the messiah.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-4

2 Thessalonians 2:1–4 NKJV

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

When the antichrist declares himself to be god, it will trigger the final judgments.

v.7:

We need to understand that this is God's wrath at work.

These are natural disasters that are solely at the hand of God. These are not man made phenomenons.

None of these ecological disasters that we will see, will be the result of nuclear war, as some have suggested.

The text paints a pretty clear image of what will happen.

Though we may not know the exact means by which these judgments will be executed, man-made weapons of war do not fit the text.

During the judgments of the first six seals, we saw some catastrophic results of the actions of man (war, the ensuing famine, disease and economic ruin, etc.).

From this point on, it is all God!

We really don't know the means by which God will accomplish this, but it could possibly be by way of volcanic eruptions.

The steam and water thrown into the sky by such eruptions could easily condense into hail and fall to earth along with the lava.

This is strikingly similar to the plague of hail in Egypt.

The first trumpet is very similar to the plague of hail in Egypt

Exodus 9:23-25

Exodus 9:23–25 NKJV

And Moses stretched out his rod toward heaven; and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire darted to the ground. And the Lord rained hail on the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, so very heavy that there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail struck throughout the whole land of Egypt, all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail struck every herb of the field and broke every tree of the field.

Dust and gases may so contaminate falling liquid water that it appears blood red.

Or, it could be actual blood. . .

Whatever the means of this judgment, a third of the trees and all the grass will be burned up.

The ecological impact of this would be devastating.

vv.8-9:

Again, this second trumpet judgment is not caused by pollution, as even ships are destroyed.

Pollution may kill marine life, but it doesn’t destroy ships.

It must be emphasized that this is solely by the hand of God.

Could this be a huge meteor or asteroid surrounded by gases that will ignite as it enters earth’s atmosphere?

Such an impact impact would certainly create a tidal wave, which could destroy a third of the world's ships.

Again, this bears a strong resemblance to the first of the Egyptian plagues, where the Nile was turned to blood.

The second and third trumpets are similar to the first of the Egyptian plagues, which turned the Nile into blood.

Exodus 7:20-21

Exodus 7:20–21 NKJV

And Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord commanded. So he lifted up the rod and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants. And all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. The fish that were in the river died, the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

The sea becoming blood may refer to an event known as red tides, caused by billions of dead micro-organisms poisoning the water—in this case the result of the meteor’s collision.

Or it may be actual blood, a clear act of judgment.

I tend to believe that in both this and the preceding trumpet judgment, that the reference is to actual blood.

This word is used 95 other times in the Bible, and in each of those instances, it literally refers to blood.

Blood would serve as both a reminder and as judgment.

The blood of Christ was shed to redeem them from their unrighteousness.

Turning the water into blood will be a reminder of the blood that Jesus shed, and the blood which will be shed.

Matthew 26:28

Matthew 26:28 NKJV

For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

However, they will reject Him, and their blood will be shed instead.

You either accept the sacrifice that Jesus made on your behalf, or you pay the penalty for sin on your own.

Because of this, much blood will be shed in the coming judgments.

The blood presented here, would be a grim reminder of that.

v.10:

With the second trumpet, the world's oceans will be impacted.

With the third, fresh water takes a hit.

This is another celestial body falling to the earth.

This may be a comet, since it leaves a fiery trail.

It could be that it will disintegrate as it nears the earth, scattering over the globe.

v.11:

Whatever it is that falls to the earth, it will scatter a poisonous substance throughout the earth's water supply.

The star is named wormwood, and the waters are said to be turned to wormwood.

Wormwood is a bitter, poisonous substance, derived from a root, that causes drunkenness and eventually death.

In the previous two judgments, we saw blood, which should be a reminder of Jesus Christ, and the penalty of sin.

Here the water is turned bitter.

We are reminded of Jesus on the Cross. He got no water, only vinegar mixed (bitter) gall.

The bitter water they must drink is a reminder of the vinegar that Jesus received on the cross.

Matthew 27:34

Matthew 27:34 NKJV

they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink.

Again, we see that the atrocities Jesus endured on the cross, will now be paid by those who have rejected Him.

As a result many men will die.

v.12:

With the fourth trumpet, God will reduce the intensity of the sun, moon and stars by one third.

Again, we see a likening to the ninth plague of Egypt, the plague of darkness.

The fourth trumpet is similar to the ninth plague of Egypt, the plague of darkness.

Exodus 10:21-23

Exodus 10:21–23 NKJV

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.” So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. They did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

The fourth trumpet will likely be one of the signs which Jesus mentioned.

Luke 21:25

Luke 21:25 NKJV

“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;

The loss of solar heat will cause a radical drop in temperature, producing severe changes in meteorological, botanical, and biological cycles.

So much for global warming!

Combine this with the poisoned water supply, and the loss of vegetation, and the earth will be in poor shape, indeed.

v.13:

As bad as things have already been, the angel warns of the impending judgments.

Woe, woe, woe: One for each remaining trumpet blast.

Although the first four trumpets are unimaginable, they will be nothing like the three to come

There can be no question at this point, about the reality of God, yet men will still choose to reject Him.

His mercies are great, and His judgments are terrible, and in all of life, we are given the choice of which we will choose.

Will we choose to be a vessel of wrath, or a vessel of mercy?

Christ can either redeem the lost and transform lives, or He can destroy both body and soul in hell.

In this world we tend to fear man, but in the end, it is God we need to fear.

Matthew 10:28

Matthew 10:28 NKJV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

It's not too late to allow transformation through the saving grace of Jesus Christ.