The Calm Before the Storm
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Hook
Hook
By show of hands how many of you have heard the expression, “The Calm Before the Storm”
The other day, I was wondering where this phrase came from, so I decided to go down the rabbit hole of internet research.
The earliest recorded instance of this phrase that I was able to find was in Shakespeares “King Henry” Part 2.
Here is the quote in modern english.
"Those who wear the crown often feel uneasy;
It's midnight. Now is the time that approaches.
That scary time! Someone who gives up easily is a coward:
It's quiet before the storm."
In the play, King Henry talks about the fact that power and security are uneasy things to have.
Because in one moment.
Even when everything seems quiet and peaceful.
It can all be swept away.
Book
Book
Here’s what the Apostle Paul said about this phenomenon.
Can someone read:
While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
When we humans put our utmost trust in financial security, national security, power, or even other people, we may experience some calm.
But it’s a short lived calm in the scope of eternity.
And it’s only a matter of time before the storm comes.
In our passage today, we’ll see what that storm looks like.
Flip with me to Revelation 8.
Up until this moment in the book of Revelation, things have been very loud.
When John receives his first vision, this is what is says:
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
This voice belongs to Christ, the one standing in the midst of the lampstands. Who commands John to write messages to the churches in Asia Minor.
Then John is shown the throne room of heaven,
After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
And when He’s in heaven, he sees all the creatures and the elders crying out in worship day and night.
Then he gets this vision.
Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?”
And he hears more loud worship.
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”
Then when the seals are opened, the living creatures cry out with voices like thunder.
Now I watched when the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say with a voice like thunder, “Come!”
When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!”
Revelation 6:5 (ESV)
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!”
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!”
Revelation 6:9–10 (ESV)
When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
And after this prayer to God, for him to judge those who have martyred God’s people, John receives this vision.
Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.”
Then he sees into heaven, and he sees the great multitudes who have died in Christ. Who have persevered through this life and into the next. And this is what they are doing:
and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
In Revelation, things are getting louder, and louder, and just when it seems that it can’t get any louder:
Absolute Silence.
Verse 1
When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
The place where the elders, the creatures, and all the hosts of heaven were worshipping nonstop, shouting like trumpets, and crying out with thunderous voices, is now dead silent.
And that is the calm before the storm.
It’s an eerie silence before the final judgement of all things.
Let’s recap for a minute first:
In Chapter six, the seals begins to open, in seal number 5, the saints under the altar pray this:
“O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”
Then everything begins to fall apart when the sixth seal is opened. It says:
When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”
This is the beginning of the end. But it gets interrupted by chapter 7, which answers that question, “Who can stand.” And the answer is the servants of God, the angels, the church on earth, and the church in heaven.
Now we finally get back to the seals, and the Lamb opens up number 7. Which finishes the end time judgement on the world.
Let’s keep reading.
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 the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
There are multiple cycles of seven in the book of Revelation. Seven Seals, Seven trumpets, seven plagues, seven bowls of God’s wrath. And it’s at the end of each of these that I and others believe depict the end of the world and final judgement.
And with each cycle, John depicts the judgements getting worse and worse for unbelievers.
Remember how I talked about how the book of Revelation is like looking at the same event from multiple different windows or perspectives? That’s what I mean.
At the end of the 7th seal, we see the prayers of the saints answered. The angel takes the golden sensor, an incense burner, mixes it with the prayers of the saints, and offers it on the golden altar before God. And God commissions this angel in response to throw the fire on the earth.
Fire is often used as a symbol of judgement.
Then the earth reacts violently. With “peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.”
Which is a sign of the end of all things. And Revelation often uses these specific weather-related events to signal the end of the world especially earthquakes.
Q: Any questions before we move on?
Trumpets
Trumpets
So now we move into the next cycle that John sees. The 7 trumpets.
The trumpets show the same earthly judgements leading up to the final one. Just like the six seals do.
But these are from a different perspective, and it’s a worse perspective for the unbelievers on earth.
Can I have someone read verses 6 and 7
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them. The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.
These four trumpets are plagues that are unleashed on the unbelieving world. These aren’t descriptions of the final judgment, but are smaller judgements that have been released on evil nations and people all throughout history. It shows how God wipes away everything that ungodly people find their security in. They are the storm that wipes away the calm.
Each of these first four trumpets target a specific part of creation. The consequences of sin has infected every part of creation, and God’s judgement comes through creation in these first four acts of judgement, which act as an undoing of the first four days of creation.
And it begins with the earthly vegetation.
Remember that hail and fire and blood are symbols of God’s judgement. They allude to the plagues of the Exodus.
And symbols are used to convey a deeper spiritual reality.
Q: What is the spiritual reality behind God burning up the plants on the earth?
Famine on earth is part of God’s judgement.
Trees and vegetation are the primary food sources of the world, especially in the ancient times.
We also see this fraction “a third.” I think that’s an reminder from John to us that he’s not witnessing the final judgment, but the partial judgements that the world receives right now.
Let’s move on.
The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Mountains in the OT often were used to symbolize evil nations. Here’s what he says about Babylon. Jeremiah 51:24-25
“I will repay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea before your very eyes for all the evil that they have done in Zion, declares the Lord. “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, declares the Lord, which destroys the whole earth; I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the crags, and make you a burnt mountain.
Here’s what an angel says about Babylon in Rev 18:21.
“Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more”
Babylon in Revelation is used as a symbol for evil nations. Like Rome, who ruled in the cities that John is writing to. Like Nazi Germany. Like North Korea. And if we keep going as we are, maybe like us one day.
And so this nation is judged by the destruction of a third of the sea. A third of the sea creatures and ships are said to be destroyed.
And I think the Spiritual reality here, is that disasters at sea are part of God’s judgement as well.
God judges evil nations like Babylon, like Rome, by cutting off all their imports and food sources.
But more generally, God judges evil right now by making the sea terrible place, a place of chaos and danger.
And it still is. Every day people die at sea.
The third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from heaven, blazing like a torch, and it fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water. The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters became wormwood, and many people died from the water, because it had been made bitter.
Now God judges the rivers and springs. By making them undrinkable.
We see a “great star,” that is burning with fire, fall to the earth. The falling star could be an angel, but it’s probably an indicator of God’s judgement like it was in the sixth seal.
We can definitely see this today. In many nations. There’s water crises because the water is dangerously dirty.
We see this a lot especially in Africa.
So God’s judgement on earth today is seen on the land, on the sea, in the springs and rivers, and finally we are shown his judgement with the sky.
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.
This is the hardest of these trumpets to interpret. But we’ll do our best.
In the OT, Darkness is a symbolic way of describing the horror that those under God’s judgement are experiencing.
She who bore seven has grown feeble; she has fainted away; her sun went down while it was yet day; she has been shamed and disgraced. And the rest of them I will give to the sword before their enemies, declares the Lord.”
“And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.
Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths. They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted. They leap upon the city, they run upon the walls, they climb up into the houses, they enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
Each of these instances record actual historical events of Israel’s judgement by God, not an end time judgement.
It also shows us the Spiritual darkness that these under God’s judgement are going through. Those who persecute the church, whether Jewish persecutors of the church, or in Rome, they are so separated from the living God that they are in darkness.
In any case, this is a general judgement on the sky.
Remember what the number four symbolizes? The whole earth. That’s why it’s no surprise that the first four trumpets, and the first four seals are targeting specifically the whole earth.
And finally we get a warning, before the rest of the trumpets are blown.
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, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!”
Then John receives another vision of an eagle, which warns the unbelievers of the earth of the further judgement that is to come. Calling them to repent.
Took
Took
What do you guys think the main takeaways from this passage are?
First, God answers our prayers. Sooner or later. Whether it’s now, or when all things are made new. (Fifth Seal - Final Judgement)
Prayers for healing.
Prayers for blessing.
Prayers for others.
They don’t fall on deaf ears.
Second, our security must be in God. If we put our faith in financial peace, our abundant blessings, food, water, shelter, and not in the one who blesses us with all of it, He will take them away. (Whether now, or in the final judgment)
There’s a lot of unbelievers who die filthy rich and end up poorer than them all.
And there’s a lot of believers who die poor and end up richer than them all.
Where would you rather be then? The calm before the storm? Or the Storm before the calm?
Like the Book of Revelation, our life is a constant battle between good and evil.
But we know who wins. So we can have confidence and peace that after this storm of a life The calm will come, And it will last forever.
Any questions before I send us out with a prayer?