Revelation 8:6-12
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Revelation chapter 8.
We will begin reading in verses 6-12 Here in just a moment,
but first Lets remember where we are in the book
and where we have been.
The apostle John is suffering persecution,
exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching Christ,
he’s writing to Christians who likewise are experiencing similar tribulations,
and in his moment of suffering,
has is caught up into a heavenly vision of the throne room of God.
He sees a scroll being opened by Jesus himself which reveals the unfolding plan of God.
In chapter 6, the seven seals binding the scroll were broken one by one,
each revealing a distinct vision.
The first four seals thematically worked together,
for each of the first four seals broken, John saw a vision of a different kind of horseman riding back and forth across the earth
both conquering for God’s kingdom and bringing about all kinds of tribulations On earth.
The fifth seal signaled a scene change.
Upon its breaking we were back in the throne room,
this time hearing the prayers of Christian martyrs throughout history crying out to God asking how long before God would vindicate them
and judge their persecutors.
In the sixth seal, we saw the answer to those cries as John beheld a vision of the end,
the final day of the Lord,
the day of God’s wrath.
As final judgment fell upon the wicked,
they asked this question…, “Who can stand?” This final judgment…
Revelation chapter 7 took us on a detour vision away from the seals to answer the question, “who can stand?”
Chapter 7 described believers in Jesus who will not only remain standing after the day of judgment,
but who will be shouting songs of praise in the presence of the Lord.
Chapter 8, began with the breaking of the seventh seal….
Revealing an eerie silence that followed the final judgment day.
So we have completed this series of visions patterned after the seven seals…,
but now we are introduced to a new set of seven.…
particularly seven trumpets….
and the big question before us in this morning’s text, is
what in the world is this new vision representing?
What are these seven trumpets representing???
Are the trumpets we are about to read about symbolic for end time events that chronologically follow the seven seals?
I don’t think that can be the case.
The sixth seal in chapter 6 clearly articulated THE day of the Lord, the final day,
So if that already happened,
why do we have seven more trumpets?
they can’t be the next stage in some kind of sequential timeline or chronology,
And if they aren’t “what happens next” in some kind of end times calendar…,
then what are these seven trumpets?
Well, I , along with many respected interpreters,
understand these groupings of sevens…,
seven seals, seven trumpets, and later seven bowls…
to be several retellings of the same spiritual realities through different lenses,
Each vision focusing on different elements of God’s plan.
The first four seals summarized many of the tribulations experienced by all people in this age:
war, famine, and death of all kinds.
And now these first four trumpets summarize many of the tribulations experienced by all people in this age once again…,
but with different imagery, different language, and different emphases.
A fancy five dollar word for this is “recapitulation” - That is a retelling of the same events, but told in a different way.
Where as the first set of seven emphasized the breaking of seals that reveal God’s plan…,
Here, God’s plan is told through the warning blasts of seven trumpets…,
We will focus only on the first four this morning as these are thematically tied together,
just as the first four seals and the four horsemen were thematically tied together.
So with all that background and build up, lets read, and lets pray for understanding
6 Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lets Pray
Now the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.
Hopefully by now we are not surprised by the number of angels
and the number of trumpets that John sees in this vision.
Revelation has consistently used the number Seven as the symbolic number of completion,
the number of the accomplishment of God’s will in its fullness,
But Revelation is not the first book to emphasize the number 7,
nor is Revelation the first book to highlight 7 trumpets.
The first century reader familiar with the biblical story should have some familiar images triggering in his mind as he reads about seven trumpet blasts warning of coming judgment.
The seventh trumpet blast was in fact the very last warning to the people of Jericho that led to the fall of their city.
After being delivered from death in Egypt,
and after 40 years of wondering in the wilderness,
God led his people to their very first battle for the land he had promised
and the signal of such a monumental occasion was the blasting of seven trumpets.
Now Jericho was shut up inside and outside because of the people of Israel. None went out, and none came in. 2 And the Lord said to Joshua, “See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and mighty men of valor. 3 You shall march around the city, all the men of war going around the city once. Thus shall you do for six days. 4 Seven priests shall bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. On the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 And when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the trumpet, then all the people shall shout with a great shout, and the wall of the city will fall down flat, and the people shall go up, everyone straight before him.”
For the residents of Jericho, these trumpets warned of certain destruction.
For the people of God, these trumpets announced certain victory.
Trumpets are a sound of warning that an enemy is coming.
Trumpets are a sound of announcement that a king has arrived.
Trumpets are a sound of celebration that victory has been won.
And here John beholds seven angels preparing to blow seven heavenly trumpets of warning that God’s Kingdom will topple Man’s Kingdom.
The walls of the kingdom of men will fall at the final trumpet blast…
But in this vision, each individual trumpet is tied to a symbolic kind of plague that effects creation itself.
The First trumpet plagues the land.
The Second trumpet plagues the sea.
The Third trumpet plagues the rivers and springs.
The Fourth trumpet plagues the skies, sun, moon, and stars.
So in the progression of the trumpets, we are reminded of the creation story from Genesis 1, only this time,
God is not creating,
he is cursing his creation.
He casting plagues upon the created order,
and again, at the description of each plague,
we are reminded of the central Old Testament narrative - the Exodus story.
Each trumpet plague uses the same imagery of the plagues that God sent upon Egypt as warnings and judgments.
Truth #1 The Trumpet Plagues Remind Us of the Exodus Story
Truth #1 The Trumpet Plagues Remind Us of the Exodus Story
The Exodus story is the backdrop narrative for so much of Revelation and really so much of the Bible….,
That Exodus story is a small foreshadowing narrative that parallels the larger narrative of the whole of human history.
In Exodus,
God’s people are enslaved in a land of chaos, death, and corruption full of false gods and idols.
God is pouring out his wrath on that land.
Each plague is like a trumpet blast warning.
Each plague is an opportunity for Pharaoh to repent.
And with each plague Pharaoh doesn’t heed the warning.
The plagues here in Revelation 8 reflect the plagues from Exodus,
They are warnings,
only here they affecting all of creation.
Look at the Hail in verse 7.
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.
Hear the similarities.
22 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.”
23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
as the story goes, Pharaoh pleaded for the plague to stop, he promised repentance, and when it stopped, Pharaoh hardened his heart once again.
Look at the water turning to blood in verse 8;
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.
20 Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded. In the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants he lifted up the staff and struck the water in the Nile, and all the water in the Nile turned into blood. 21 And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
as the story goes, Pharaoh pleaded for the plague to stop, he promised repentance, and when it stopped, Pharaoh hardened his heart once again.
consider the bitter water in verse 11.
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.
This doesn’t exactly parallel one of the plagues, but rather one of the tests that actually fell on Israel as they were being delivered out of Egypt.
As they were exiting Egypt they couldn’t find drinking water because it was bitter, and God uses the moment as a teaching moment for the people of God.
22 Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
23 When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah.
24 And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?”
25 And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log, and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them,
26 saying, “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”
The message was simple, turn to God for protection and provision as you are delivered from Egypt and walk through the wilderness to the promised land.
and lastly consider the Darkness in verse 12:
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.
21 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt.” 22 So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. 23 They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the people of Israel had light where they lived.
as the story goes, Pharaoh pleaded for the plague to stop, he promised repentance, and when it stopped, Pharaoh hardened his heart once again.
John’s vision points back to the exodus story but this time, here in revelation its expanded to include the entire world….
The entire created order is suffering plagues of the wrath of God…, as trumpet blasts of warning that are meant to lead us to repentance.
In fact, I think the whole point of the trumpet visions in Revelation,
is to show that humanity is being warned of God’s wrath over and over again,
but humanity as a whole is making the same choice that Pharaoh made.
We won’t spend a long time on this text today, but fast forward toward the end of the trumpet plagues…,
20 The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold and silver and bronze and stone and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk,
21 nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.
Whats the point?
The Exodus story is a smaller story which tells the story of the whole world.
We are in a world suffering the plagues of God’s wrath on all of creation,
There is only one way out of this place of corruption,
We have to trust the way of salvation that God has provided…
we have to trust the blood sacrifice of the spotless lamb,
and when we do the wrath of God’s final plague will passover us,
and we will be delivered to the land he has promised us.
Or we can ignore all the warning signs in our broken world,
we can harden our heart,
and we can be swallowed up by the wrath of God in the end, just as Pharoah and the Egyptians were.
Many will choose that path despite the warning trumpets being blasted throughout human history.
so what are the trumpets in Revelation 8 really representative of?
Truth #2 The Trumpet Plagues Reflect The Warning Signs of God’s Wrath in this Age
Truth #2 The Trumpet Plagues Reflect The Warning Signs of God’s Wrath in this Age
I do not think these trumpets describe the final day of judgment.
They are not comprehensive.…,
they are only partial.
Its only a third of the land,
a third of the sea, a third of the rivers,
a third of the skies that are affected in this vision.
I think this symbolic “third” here is only meant to communicate that the judgments John is seeing in this vision are not total and final.
They are real, and they are awful, but they are partial.
This describes our present world.
Not every ship sinks in the ocean…, but a lot do.
Not all water is made undrinkable, but a lot is.
Not everything is darkened all the time,
but a lot of spiritual darkness keeps the light from shining.
The vision is that of a world deeply affected by the wrath of God.
A world currently reeling in the impact of the wrath of God on sin.
I think that John is seeing the spiritual reality that stands behind the physical reality of fallen creation in this age Before Christ’s return.
It is the wrath of God poured out on creation for sin that causes all disasters and all physical corruption in our world.
The apostle Paul comments on this fact throughout the book of Romans.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
Paul argues that this is our present reality.
God is revealing his wrath from heaven in the curse on sin that is effecting our world.
Later Paul says it this way:
20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope
21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.
What Paul says in theological argumentation…,
John is now seeing in symbolic imagery…
God’s wrath is being poured out on land, and sea, and rivers, and sky.
There is a sense in which the disasters,
and the corruption,
and the brokenness of our world should in fact remind us of God’s righteous indignation with human rebellion against him.
Earthquakes exist because of God’s wrath on sin.
Hurricanes exist because of God’s wrath on sin.
Shipwrecks occur because of God’s wrath on sin.
It doesn’t mean that every disaster that happens is in response to someone’s specific sin,
but that the disaster itself exists because of God’s wrath on a sinful world.
Jesus actually taught his disciples to process disasters in this way.
Jesus taught his disciples not to hear about a disaster and then try to determine who to blame…,
but rather to see disasters as trumpet warnings of the final judgment still to come.
Trumpet warnings of what really every human being deserves at the hand of God.
Consider Jesus teaching in Luke 13.
There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
So how were the disciples to respond to disaster?
Not by blame casting,
but by repenting Of sin before a holy God.
The disasters themselves are trumpets of God’s wrath,
serving as warning to all of humanity,
that they need to repent while there is still time.
Raise your hand if you have stayed here in South Louisiana during a hurricane?
What did you see when you looked out the window?
What kind of force, what kind of destruction, what kind of power did that storm carry with it?
Every hurricane is but a small picture of the full force of God’s judgment yet to come.
We should marvel at it,
thank God that he has not poured that wrath out on all of us,
and turn to Jesus - the only way of salvation that God has provided for sinners like us.
Jesus drank the full cup of God’s wrath on sin at the cross of his crucifixion so that we might be passed over on the day of God’s wrath fully revealed.
We live in a world of corruption,
groaning, and waiting,
and hoping in the new world that God has promised us who trust in Jesus.
The question is how will we respond to the signs of the time, the trumpets of warning.
Will we be led to repentance, or will we harden our hearts.
Revelation says that many will just harden their hearts.
I want to conclude by just spelling out for us a few of the implications from this text we should take away.
These implications are powerful tools for sharing the gospel with others.
Evangelistic Implications:
The Corruption of Creation Confirms the Storyline of Scripture
People will often describe the evil and the brokenness of our world as a reason that they reject Christian doctrine.
That kind of reasoning will not stand.
The Bible does not avoid the topic of creation’s corruption.
The Bible explains it.
There are truly awful things happening in our world all the time… That is no contradiction to Christian doctrine…, that is confirmation of the storyline of Scripture.
Don’t reject Christianity because of suffering.
Christianity is the only religion that explains human suffering..,
Christianity is the only religion where our God came and endured human suffering,
and Christianity is the only religion that offers hope for an end to human suffering for those who repent and believe.
so firstly,
#1 The Corruption of Creation Confirms the Storyline of Scripture
#1 The Corruption of Creation Confirms the Storyline of Scripture
secondly,
#2 The Disasters of the Present Age Are Opportunities to Repent
#2 The Disasters of the Present Age Are Opportunities to Repent
8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.
one day the final day will come, and there will be no more opportunities to repent.
the patience of our God with this corrupt world is actually merciful…,
And finally,
#3 The Hope of Christianity is New Creation
#3 The Hope of Christianity is New Creation
This is where the book of Revelation is headed.
We are beholding visions of plague and wrath and disaster…,
but those who trust the blood of the lamb are headed to a promise land.
Lets close with this - the end of the story we have been promised.
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
Lets Pray
