Oh The Trumpet Sound
Notes
Transcript
Read Revelation 9:1-21
1 Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. So the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 3 Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6 In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. 7 The shape of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns of something like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 They had hair like women’s hair, and their teeth were like lions’ teeth. 9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses running into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and there were stings in their tails. Their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon. 12 One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. 13 Then 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 who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. 16 Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. 18 By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths. 19 For their power is in their mouth and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents, having heads; and with them they do harm. 20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Introduction: When we think about a sounding trumpet our mind immediately goes to the return of Christ in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 because the trumpet was used to call the saints together. What a beautiful picture of the trumpet sounding and all of us being called together to the Lord. We must remember that the trumpet was also used to warn and prepare. Revelation stresses the return of Christ and our gathering to Him, but I think an important thing for us to remember when we are studying the book of Revelation is that the book was written to a suffering church that needed to know how to respond to what they were dealing with in the present.
Revelation has a futuristic view but in the sense that what is happening will continue to happen and intensify in the future. So, the goal is not to just tell the future but to deal with the present in light of the future. As I was writing this the words of
Ecclesiastes 1:9-10
9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which it may be said, “See, this is new”? It has already been in ancient times before us.
Therefore, Revelation is a word to every generation until the end of the age about how to have victory over the world in Jesus Christ. Chapter 9 is a vivid description of the evil in our world and how that evil, deception, temptation, and destruction will only intensify until the close of the age.
We see Satan the prince of this world being given more power and releasing a hoard of demons upon the earth.
We see the ugliness of these demons and their true ability to inflict pain. They are presented as scorpions. And they are in number and invasion like locusts.
We see demons designed for destruction who will cause wars, illnesses, and death. Widespread death up to 1/3 of the humanity.
Listen, this spirit is already at work in the world and it will only get worse! Notice what 1 John 2:18
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
Then in 1 John 4:3 he states that the spirit of the Antichrist is already at work in the world.
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.
Such is the world that we live in. We will deal with spiritual assaults, mental attacks, temptations, illnesses, and yes premature, untimely death. In other word everything that is the opposite of eternal life.
Our enemy would like for us to feel like a victim and deceive us. We’re not a victim, we’re victors! As we look at this narrative we see three core concepts that will help us endure the trials of this world with faith intact.
The Real Culprit is Satan.
The Real Culprit is Satan.
Verse 1 introduces a falling star from heaven to earth.
Later he is identified as the leader of this hoard of demons.
He is also given the name in Hebrew and Greek that mean destruction.
He is an angel so he has power and he has a key so he has a certain amount of authority.
Who gave him this key? We have been studying Kingdom Authority on Wednesday night and Adam legally lost the authority over this world.
God held up the deal until the time that He could legally regain it because He is holy and just. Authority was legally regained through the obedience, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The victory is won, just not fully realized.
Satan takes the keys and does on a much bigger scale what he has already been doing from the beginning. Tormenting the ones that God loves and then blaming it on God.
You see the culprit behind every illness, death, temptation, and torment is Satan.
You ever notice what we do when bad things happen? Why did God do this?
This attitude goes all the way back to the deception in the garden. “God is keeping something from us.” We always hold the one who is doing everything for us in suspect.
Now, when we say the real culprit is Satan, we’re not giving ourselves an out. He manipulates and uses our sinful nature, and the world system against us, but he is the real culprit.
You can bet that he is behind every evil, corrupt, profane thing in the world.
Our first step to victory is recognizing the real culprit and to stop blaming God. It amazes me that there’s a great deal of the world that doesn’t even believe Satan and demons exists.
God Limits Satan’s Destruction.
God Limits Satan’s Destruction.
I’m sure you noticed the limitations as we were reading Revelation 9: 4-5
4 They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man.
First, there was a distinction between those sealed by God and those who are not.
It doesn’t mean that we are free from temptation, trials, or death, but we cannot be dominated by demons. And at this point in human history when the intensity reaches its max those who belong to God will be off limits.
This is not the first time for this kind of distinction. When the plagues of God’s judgment came upon Egypt at the fifth plague (halfway through) God distinguished between the Egyptians and Israel.
In fact, this is the point John is making here.
God limits certain judgments for believers. He limits our trials and temptations. Now, I know this is hard for us to see at times. Listen to 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
Let’s remember any mercy for those who don’t deserve mercy is gracious. And, for God to intervene in a world that is destine for destruction is an act of grace.
Notice also that the time is limited. 5 months even for those who refuse to repent. It is limited how long this intense trial can last.
So, let’s assess for a minute. God doesn’t cause evil, but allows for a season with limitations.
You may say, “Why does He even allow evil to touch us?” I can’t be exhaustive here but:
If we were not touched by evil we would build a nest here. We try to do it now even with sin and death.
If we didn’t have to respond to evil, we wouldn’t respond to good.
If we didn’t face evil in the world, we would never face evil in ourselves.
You see God is rescuing us from a sinking ship, not trying to make us feel good on the way down.
Michael Wilcox said, God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.’
Maybe this last point will bring us full circle.
God Transforms Intended Evil into Good.
God Transforms Intended Evil into Good.
You see these plagues were not without purpose.
Satan was intent on inflicting as much pain as possible, but God was seeking to rescue. Look in Revelation 9:20-21
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
God didn’t cause the evil, limited it, and repurposed it to bring repentance.
Now, I don’t want you to think that God is just looking for us to be really sorry for our sin or he will punish us. He wants us to turn away from death to life.
God’s holy nature require justice and judgment.
Ray Comfort gives a great illustration. He says if a judge lets someone off the hook for a crime, what does that say for the judge? The judge is a criminal. To be a good righteous judge he must fulfill the demands of the law. Whatever penalty the law calls for must be paid.
God in and through Christ Jesus paid the fine of death on behalf of every person. God desires us to realize this and turn to Jesus.
One of the best tools to help us recognize spiraling death of this world is trials, temptations, death, and destruction. God doesn’t cause it, He doesn’t have to, such is this world. But God takes what Satan meant for evil and uses it for good. God uses it to help us reject this world and embrace Life through Jesus Christ.
What is astonishing about this narrative is that so many chose not to. In Revelation 9:20-21 is where we find the warning for our age.
20 But the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, that they should not worship demons, and idols of gold, silver, brass, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk. 21 And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
It will be too late for them, but its not too late for us. You may say, I have repented! I would ask are you repenting? Are you seeing the good that God wants to bring from the bad? How does He want to more form and shape you in the image of Christ?
You can bank on Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
Let’s pray as we prepare for a time of response. This is not the time to gather your things in preparation to leave. This is the time to pray, evaluate, examine, confess, and rejoice. I’ll ask Lannie, Barry, and Luke to come on up as we pray.
Application:
Application:
This morning maybe you need to confess some misplaced blame. You mistrusted God and the real culprit was Satan. We all do this, but how precious it must be to God when we realize that He works for our good.
Perhaps God has been allowing a limited trial in your life to draw attention to an area that needs repentance. The best time for that is the present.
Maybe today God spoke to your heart for the first time to show you the need of salvation. Your hope has been this world and God showed you the emptiness of that. I want to encourage you to come talk to one of these guys.
If God has shown you that this is the church for you to serve through I want you to come talk to someone.
Maybe you just need prayer and support. Come!