Trumpet Judgments, Part 2
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Revelation 8:13-9:21
We should remember, when we look at this great judgment that is coming on the earth that God in His great mercy gave time for repentance.
Before the wrath in the first part of chapter 8 begins, there is approximately 2000 or more years of gospel preaching.
Additionally, those who were “in Christ” are called home to Heaven via a great catching away.
The unbelieving world quickly accepts the rule of Antichrist, but he cannot stop the judgments.
The first four trumpets have sounded.
1. The First Trumpet - Hail, Fire and Blood
1/3 of earth burned up, 1/3 trees burned, all grass burned up.
2. The Second Trumpet - Meteor
1/3 of sea becomes blood, 1/3 of sea life killed, 1/3 of sea vessels destroyed
3. The Third Trumpet - Wormwood
1/3 of all fresh water is destroyed, many will die
4. The Fourth Trumpet - Light Darkened
1/3 of all light sources are darkened
After this fourth judgment we see in the 13th verse
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!
Now the next judgment comes.
I. The Fifth Trumpet Judgment
I. The Fifth Trumpet Judgment
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
Let’s look at these verses more closely
A. The Star from Heaven
A. The Star from Heaven
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: ...
“Him” indicates an angelic being...
It is possible this was the meaning of the previous Star as well, however we are not given any hints to that.
The Word just means Celestial Body.
It is very likely it is talking about one of God's Angels.
B. The Bottomless Pit
B. The Bottomless Pit
1 ...and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; ...
“The Abyss”
Hell — gravity constantly pulling men down...
1. The Abode of Evil Spirits
1. The Abode of Evil Spirits
(chained)
Home of the most terrible of the fallen angels which followed Lucifer.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Maniac of Gadera — The demons begged to be incarnate in swine rather than sent to the Abyss.
31 And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep.
Deep is the same Greek word used here.
2. Hades
2. Hades
translated hell or grave - it is the dwelling place of the lost spirits.
Some believe it is just speaking of the grave.
I do not…the Bible tells us of the rich man was there.
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
He was in torment, he was hot and begging for water.
This doesn’t sound like just a grave.
C. The Demonic Locusts
C. The Demonic Locusts
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.
Rising from smoke - there is fire.
Locusts like demons — judge the ungodly (not helicopters - Hal Lindsey)
Ruled by Apollyon — (a death angel) vs. 11 Destroyer
D. The Protection of God
D. The Protection of God
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
Egyptian Plagues — Devastated Egypt, not Goshen...
Today we have the seal of the Holy Spirit — in that day, a seal on their forehead.
Here these locusts were told not to hurt the grass - all grass was burned up, but it seems that some has begun to grow again by now.
So these new shoots are not to be harmed.
neither any green thing, or tree, or those who have the seal of God.
These are intelligent beings that can recognize a mark.
E. The Torment upon the Earth
E. The Torment upon the Earth
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
lasted five months vs. 5
They could not kill, but torment only.
men desired death — vs. 6
Demonic locusts — vs. 7-10
Remember this is a 1st century man describing this the best he could, with only the likenesses of what he has seen before.
Locusts - Shaped like a horse, heads looked like they had crowns, faces like a man, hair like a woman, teeth like a lion, breastplate or armor, wings loud like chariots, tail like a scorpion that stings the men.
II. The Sixth Trumpet Judgment
II. The Sixth Trumpet Judgment
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
A. A Voice from the Golden Altar
A. A Voice from the Golden Altar
The altar of incense before the Holy of Holies represents the prayer of the tribulation martyrs.
At the middle of the tribulation — the Antichrist has set himself up for worship.
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
So here cries out a voice from the altar for the release of ...
B. The Four Angels of the Euphrates
B. The Four Angels of the Euphrates
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
They were loosed (means they were bound - Fallen angels)
They were prepared — (God allowed them to destroy)
The hour, day, month and year, are not meant to be added up, but rather they were appointed for a particular time to be released.
Euphrates — Boundary of Old Roman Empire Divider of East and West
This area has a notorious relationship with human sin:
first murder committed (not far from garden of Eden)
the first war confederacy (Gen 14)
Nimrod began his kingdom there
Babylon idolatry sprang up in this region as well.
C. The Army of Devastation
C. The Army of Devastation
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
Two hundred million horsemen - he heard the number of them, he didn’t guess.
Either demonic spirits led by the four angels or a literal army on horseback.
Some Commentators describe this passage as a correlation with the Battle of Gog and Magog where Russia invades Israel, Germany, Libya, and others.
One-third of all men are killed
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth [deep blue], and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. [Almost sounds like a mythical dragon to me]
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.
Approximately 50% of the world has died.
Perhaps God is ridding the earth of those who would not receive the Lord at his second coming.
III. The Hardness of Men's Hearts
III. The Hardness of Men's Hearts
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:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
The remaining population repented NOT...
What hindered their repentance?
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
At this time crime is going to rise to unprecedented figures.
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
A. Idolatry
A. Idolatry
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:
Man has a desire for God, but Satan creates counterfeits.
B. Murder
B. Murder
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Wherever the influence of the gospel is unknown, the quality of life is cheapened.
C. Sorcery
C. Sorcery
Bible Commentator John Phillips said, “The world is already being prepared for what is to come. It is one of the ironies of the age in which we live that, at a time when scientific enlightenment is at its zenith and men are educated, pragmatic, and materialistic in the extreme, millions are turning to the occult for entertainment, enlightenment, and eventual enslavement. Every year, hundreds of new books are published dealing with demonism, witchcraft, magic, spiritism, ghosts, and prophecy. Every season brings its quota of television shows featuring similar themes. Soothsayers, prophets, astrologers, and fortune tellers are given avid hearing by millions. The groundwork is being laid for an enormous increase in demon activity soon to burst upon the world. What will happen under the blowing of the fifth trumpet will be made all the easier because men have been preconditioned to reject biblical truth and to accept the doctrines of demons.”
Desensitivity of today's generation — videos, Pokémon
There is also the root word translation for this word for sorceries which is pharmakeia.
It could be in reference to drug use and addiction will grow more rampant.
D. Fornication
D. Fornication
Already the World is full of fornication
pornography is at an all time high
promiscuity is everywhere
Every vice known to man is making it to the forefront of entertainment.
However in this time it will be even worse.
E. Thefts
E. Thefts
During this time they will not stop stealing or robbing.
Sin holds the world captive.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What a horrible time to be alive!
And the judgement are not over!
We have seen seven Seal Judgments, which the seventh seal contained the seven trumpet judgments.
Now we have seen six of them.
Beginning in chapter 10 through chapter 11:14 is a parentheses dealing with a mighty angel and the two witnesses.
We will look at some of that next week.