Revelation Chapter 8, March 2, 2025
Notes
Transcript
Congregational Scripture Reading
Congregational Scripture Reading
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
3 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,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
5 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.
Introduction
Introduction
The Seventh Seal is Broken
The Seventh Seal is Broken
1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
At this point we see Jesus the lamb he opens the 7th seal and there is a bit of a dramatic pause. Silence for half an hour in heaven. I can only imagine from everything we've seen with countless creatures worshipping God constantly and with noise like the rush of a waterfall... silence in heaven for half an hour has to be just as deafening.
At this point this focus in the charter is going to shift. The focus rather in revelations is going to shift from describing scrolls to talking about the contents of this scroll. If you think about it the last seal is broken and now we see the contents of the judgement scroll.
2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them.
Now we are going to see seven more angels standing before God. It's interesting Jewish tradition and Christian tradition hold that there are 7 archangels. 7 special angels.
Revelation A. Seventh Seal Broken: Silence and Transition to the Trumpets (8:1–6)
Uriel, Raphael, Raguel, Michael, Saraqael, Gabriel, and Remiel
2 Michael and Gabriel are named in the Bible and Michael is the only one that's designated specifically as an Archangel and Gabriel is the only one who claims to stand before God.
We see another reference to the idea of an Archangel in first thessalonians 416
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
Now the trumpet that these angels receive each of them receives 7 trumpets period. And this would be a reference to a metal instrument common in the 1st century a long tube with a mouthpiece and a flared end usually used in warfare. These kinds of trumpets were used for giving signals not for playing music since they don't have valves like Brian and Val Loomis’ trumpets and trombones do.
3 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,
4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel.
5 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.
Now we see an eighth Angel with a gold sensor picking up what appears to be a bowl for holding incense and coals and the incense he's given to offer essentially is the prayers of the Saints. John doesn't share what those prayers are probably an echo of what was prayed and in chapter 6 but it's interesting the Angel goes from offering incense and prayers and the smoke rises before God and he pivots from this being a moment where requests are being made of God to where he takes these burning coals and throws them on earth and that in a sense portrays and visualizes the judgment that is about to come.
And when God speaks and when God acts we see peals of Thunder rumblings flashes of lightning and an earthquake.
Throughout the Book of Revelation when God acts in judgment his actions are portrayed in the form of natural phenomena join the power of nature and the God who made it. We need to remember these portrayals don't mean that natural calamities are necessarily the judging actions of God but God does work through a natural calamity to bring about judgment
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
This verse marks the transition from a long period of human history characterized by the seven seals a time of preparation for judgment into the time of great tribulation. The unraveling of the world is beginning.
The First Four Trumpets
The First Four Trumpets
What we'll see in these first four trumpets is a devastation on the world that gives people the opportunity to turn to God in repentance.
7 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.
So the first Angel sounded his trumpet and something happens in heaven that impacts earth. This kind of destruction is like what Joel talked about in the Old Testament
30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke.
And this kind of devastation is like the plagues only far beyond the plagues that God dispensed on Egypt in exodus. This is talking about a worldwide catastrophe.
Let's point out a few things about this plague. First of all we can probably imagine how this could happen far more easily than people in the 1st century could. Think nuclear bombs. Secondly John is not as concerned with the mechanism or how this will happen as much as he is concerned with the reality that happened. That's the driving logic through so much of God's word. It's not about the mechanism for how God created the world it's the reality that he spoke and the world came into existence.
Secondly this plague is devastating but not yet enough to eradicate all life on earth.
8 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.
9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.
Now the second trumpet is blown and disaster is repeated. We don't have a clear understanding of what kind of disaster could begin in the sky and drop to earth other than something straight up sent from the hand of God and the sea mentioned here is most likely the Mediterranean Sea which defined the Roman Empire. But think about it a third of all the ships 1/3 of the living creatures destroyed and remember in revelation fractions are used to indicate that something is not complete but that a significant action has been taken.
10 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.
11 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 again something falls down from heaven and affects the earth. The name Warren would of course means bitterness. And people die from this bitter water. The second trumpet devastated the oceans. The third trumpet ruins fresh waters. So now a third of the world's vegetation is gone 1/3 of the world's drinkable water is gone Can you imagine the impact on the animal Kingdom?
12 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.
Now with this 4th Angel the sun is dimmed by 1/3 and so are the moon and the stars the world that God spoke into existence now he judges into darkness. Think about it in genesis God promised as long as the earth endures day and night will never cease.
22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.”
If he's taking out some of the day and night it sounds like the beginning of the end of the world is on its way. Now we don't have any time references for when or how long this will all take but once these judgments start coming out it's very reasonable that the earth doesn't have much time left. It's no wonder this is called the great tribulation.
The Eagle’s Announcement
The Eagle’s Announcement
13 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!”
Devastation and destruction throughout the whole earth these trumpets affect all of life on earth and many human lives are casualties the judgments. As opposed to the cries of holy holy holy that are shouted before the throne this bird of prey cries out whoa ohh whoa.
And you know in our family Isabelle does this thing when she expresses surprise and we love to imitate her and laugh with her about it. When she's surprised by something she goes whoa whoa whoa hold your horses. For her she's emphasizing her surprise with those words.
In the Bible repetition is also emphasis and in this passage whoa is a cry that one makes in anguish and sorrow.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This chapter is so striking because it incorporates all of the senses.
Revelation III. Conclusion: The Plagues of Exodus and Revelation
• the sight of angels and blazing objects
• the sound of trumpets and thunder
• the smell of incense and smoke
• the taste of bitter wormwood
• the feel of earthquake
It's also fascinating that there are tons of parallels between the judgments of the trumpets and the bowls that we're going to get into and the plagues on Egypt. Both now in revelation and back in Egypt God demonstrated his capacity to judge the greatest nations on earth period to judge all the earth. And in each of these cases his judgments are intended to call people to repentance.
Revelation Principles
PRINCIPLES
• God receives the prayers of his people and acts in response to those prayers.
• God uses natural disasters to accomplish his purposes.
• God’s judgments are designed to bring people to repent.
• God’s disciplining judgments in history will climax in a final time of tribulation, devastating nature as never before.
APPLICATIONS
• Believe that some plagues are the natural consequence of sin and evil, but others come by the plan of God.
• Learn about how God’s people will be victorious during times of divine judgment by looking at the patterns in the Book of Exodus.
• Avoid trying to determine the chronology for the events predicted in this chapter.
Final Application
Final Application
We live in the land between. We live in the time between the plagues of Egypt thousands of years ago and the end time judgments. And because we have instant access to news we're painfully aware of hurricanes tsunamis earthquakes and raging fires. Diseases spread throughout the world and kill thousands.
We need to realize that many of the disasters and diseases we see and read about are simply a result of living in a fallen world. We can say that God has permitted them but most of the time it's probably not accurate to say that he caused them. Like the Egyptian plagues.
So how do we respond when a plague or a disaster or a fire or catastrophe hits someone we love? We need to remember that God is sovereign and nothing surprises God. And we can pray for people who live through disasters. But more than anything we need to see disasters as times when people are brought face to face with the issues of eternity. It's the one thing I appreciate about every funeral... Everyone there is faced with the reality of death. People hear the gospel more in a time of disaster.
Many of you probably know the story of Horatio spafford. He lost his wife and children in a shipwreck. Traveling back over the spot where his family died he wrote the words of this powerful song that has filled people with hope throughout history.
Revelation IV. Life Application: Facing Disasters Today
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say,
‘It is well, it is well with my soul.”
Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.
Closing Community Prayer
Closing Community Prayer
9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil
