Warning Signs

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Now please take a moment of silence to prepare your heart for worship.

Call to Worship (Psalm 96:10–13)

Prayer of Praise (Amanda Loncar)

Behold He Comes

Come As You Are

Prayer of Confession (Joel Whitcomb), Delaying repentance

Assurance of Pardon (Isaiah 55:6-7)

Completely Known, Completely Loved

Scripture Reading (Revelation 8:7–9:21)—page 1223 in the black Bibles

Pastoral Prayer (Sterling )

Prayer for PBC—Faithfulness to evangelize

Prayer for kingdom partner—Ham, Justin & Angie (IMB)

Prayer for US

Prayer for the world—Mongolia

Pray for the sermon

SERMON

START TIMER!!!

On the morning of May 18, 1980, a man named Harry Truman woke up on the shores of Spirit Lake in Washington State.

No — not that Harry Truman.

This Harry Truman owned a small lodge just a few miles from Mount St. Helens.

For nearly two months, geologists noticed warning signs that Mount St. Helens was about to erupt.

Hundreds of earthquakes had shaken the ground. Steam explosions had burst from the summit. The entire north face of the volcano had begun bulging outward, sometimes several feet in a single day.

Geologists pleaded with residents to evacuate. Roads were closed. The National Guard blocked access. Nearly everyone knew something terrible was coming.

But Harry Truman refused to leave.

When people asked if he was afraid, he told them, "The mountain will never hurt me."

But on May 18, at 8:32 that morning, Mount St. Helens erupted.

Millions of tons of rock flew fifteen miles into the sky.

An avalanche of ash and gas raced across the landscape at more than 200 miles an hour.

Everything within 230 square miles was flattened.

Fifty-seven people died that day.

Harry Truman was one of them.

His lodge, and everything in it, was buried under 150 feet of volcanic debris.

He wasn't killed because there were no warnings. He was killed because he chose not to listen.

As we come to Revelation 8 and 9, we encounter a world filled with warning signs.

Two weeks ago, we paused to observe the silence in heaven as God listened to the prayers of His people.

Now, in response to those prayers, seven angels begin to sound seven trumpets.

Throughout the Bible, trumpets often served as alarms. They warned cities of approaching enemies. They alerted God's people to coming danger. They called people to pay attention.

That is exactly what these trumpets are doing in our text this morning.

As the first six trumpets sound, bad things start to happen.

Creation is damaged. Demonic forces are unleashed. Death and destruction spread across the world.

Yet there is something unusual about these judgments. They are all partial.

Again and again we read that only a third of the earth, the sea, the stars, or humanity is affected.

Why? Because the trumpets do not describe the final judgment. They warn people before the final judgment.

God is sounding an alarm to a fallen world. Through every natural disaster, every disease, every war, every tragedy, and every reminder that this world is not the way it should be, He is warning sinners that a greater judgment is still to come and calling them to repent while there is still time.

Everything bad that happens in this life is a warning sign pointing us to our need for Jesus.

That’s the Big Idea I want to show you from God’s Word this morning.

In these trumpets, God places Three Warning Signs before us—three alarms to awaken sinners before the final judgment arrives.

In 8:7-13, God Warns Us Through Natural Disasters,

In 9:1-12, God Warns Us Through Satanic Despair,

In 9:13-19, God Warns Us Through Human Depravity.

Since we have a lot of ground to cover this morning, let’s dive right in.

1) God Warns Us Through Natural Disasters

Before we look at the text, we need to remember that the book of Revelation is NOT intended to be understood chronologically.

If you're not convinced, just compare this morning’s reading with what we studied a few weeks ago in chapter 6.

In chapter 6, the sun turned black and all the stars fell to earth.

But here in chapter 8, the sun and stars are brightly shining until the fourth angel blows his trumpet.

The book of Revelation consists of seven parallel sections, each depicting life in the last days and culminating in the second coming of Christ.

Like seven instant replays showing the same events from different angles.

SHOW SEVEN SEVENS IN REVELATION IMAGE

The first cycle informed us that God’s people must persevere until the end.

The second cycle assured us God’s people will persevere until the end.

Chapter 8 begins the third cycle, which shows us the same events from a different perspective.

Derek Thomas helps us understand the emphasis in this third cycle when he writes, “The seals view the unfolding of the redemptive purposes of God from the point of view of the Lord’s own people, those who are sealed; the trumpets view this same reality from the point of view of the unsealed, those who are not the people of God. The opening of the seals brings great consolation to the people of God. The sounding of the trumpets brings great woes upon those who are not the people of God.” [1]

In other words, chapters 6 and 8 are describing the same period of history. The difference is the camera angle. The seals emphasize God's protection of His people. The trumpets emphasize God's warnings to those who are not His people.

And from the perspective of unbelievers, life between Christ’s first and second comings is often filled with natural disasters.

Revelation 8:7–12—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. 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. 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. 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.

It’s really easy to get distracted by the details in these verses and miss the main point.

Just like the first four seals went together to make a point about what to expect between the first and second coming of Jesus, these first four trumpets go together to show us how all of creation is broken by sin.

The first trumpet brings disaster to the earth.

The second trumpet brings disaster to the oceans.

The third trumpet brings disaster to the fresh water.

And the fourth trumpet brings disaster to the sun, moon, and stars.

No part of the created world is left untouched.

Some have tried to connect these first four trumpets to specific events in history—like the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the disaster at Chernobyl, or a solar eclipse.

Instead, I think it’s far more helpful to see these first four trumpets as symbolic of all sorts of natural disasters that befall the world until Christ returns.

Earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, blazing heat, freezing cold, drought, diseases, forest fires—all of these things are part of what it means to live in a fallen world. All these are different notes played by the first four trumpets.

The goal of the first four trumpets is not to help us predict natural disasters, but to interpret them.

Whenever we encounter disaster—whether it’s something widespread like Hurricane Isabelle or something personal like a terminal diagnosis—we are meant to look at those disasters as warning signs. We’re not supposed to ignore them like we sometimes ignore the check engine lights in our cars.

C.S. Lewis was right: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains.” [2]

Are you listening, friend? Are you paying attention to how God warns us through a fallen creation?

Christian, when your unbelieving friends and family members are suffering, they just might be more open to hear the Good News of the gospel. I know this might seem counterintuitive. We might be especially tempted to say nothing when unbelievers are hurting. But often it’s through pain and suffering that unbelievers begin to search for something more.

During the early months of COVID, grocery shelves emptied, churches closed, travel stopped, and daily life was turned upside down. Suddenly everyone was talking about death. People who had never thought much about death were counting case numbers and wondering what would happen if they got sick.

Suffering has a way of waking us up to realities we normally ignore.

Every disaster is a reminder that this world is not the way it was meant to be—and that a greater judgment is still to come.

Notice that John repeats the phrase “a third” 13 times in six verses.

Why? Because these judgments are warnings, not the final judgment.

God's wrath is real, but His patience is still being displayed.

He is giving sinners opportunity to repent.

And that’s even more clear in…

Revelation 8:13—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!”

Now, of course, the Apostle John knows eagles don’t talk.

This vision is not to be taken literally. But we should take it seriously.

And the message here is clear: “If you thought the first four trumpets were bad, just wait. It’s going to get worse.”

Everything bad that happens in this life is a warning sign pointing us to our need for Jesus.

God warns us through natural disasters.

But also...

2) God Warns Us Through Satanic Despair.

Revelation 9:1–12—And the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star fallen from heaven to earth, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit. He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft. Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given power like the power of scorpions of the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were allowed to torment them for five months, but not to kill them, and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings someone. And in those days people will seek death and will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them. In appearance the locusts were like horses prepared for battle: on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails and stings like scorpions, and their power to hurt people for five months is in their tails. They have as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he is called Apollyon. The first woe has passed; behold, two woes are still to come.

Once again, it is very easy to get lost in the weeds with these verses.

Perhaps the wildest interpretation I’ve heard is that the Apostle John was simply doing his best to describe an Apache Helicopter.

SHOW APACHE HELICOPTER IMAGE

Now, as fascinating as that interpretation might be, it completely skips over major details in these verses.

First, notice where these locusts come from.

I’ll give you a hint: it’s not Boeing.

Verses 1-2 are clear that they come from the bottomless pit, which is literally the abyss or the netherworld.

Second, notice who releases these locusts.

Verse 1 says a star falls from heaven to open the bottomless pit.

Now obviously this is not a literal star, because he’s holding a key.

I believe this star is a reference to Satan himself.

Perhaps John is alluding to Jesus’ words in…

Luke 10:18—. . . “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”

When Satan fell from heaven, he brought a host of evil angels with him.

Revelation 9 is symbolically portraying the ongoing activity of Satan and the demonic forces that followed him in rebellion against God.

Third, notice who these locusts serve.

Verse 11 says their king is named Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek.

Both words mean “Destroyer.”

And destroying is exactly what Satan does.

Jesus called Satan a “thief who comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

These locusts don’t serve some military power. They serve Satan himself.

Finally, notice who these locusts torment.

Verse 4 is clear they’re not affecting the natural world. They can’t even harm a blade of grass.

The irony is striking. Real locusts destroy vegetation. These locusts aren't even allowed to touch it. They attack people instead.

John is telling us from the beginning that these are not literal insects but symbols of a deeper spiritual reality.

If you put all this together, it’s clear the fifth trumpet symbolizes the work of Satan and his demons.

You may not believe in God, you may not believe in demons, but your unbelief does not change the truth. Without Christ you are subject to the torments of Satan and his demons.

And the description of these demons in verses 7-10 portray them as powerful, intelligent, seductive, destructive, swift, and terrifying.

Richard Phillips helpfully reminds us that “We know that John is not describing literal features because he uses the word like eight times. These are analogies presenting a ‘frightful and horrible and true picture of the operation of the powers of darkness in the souls of the wicked.’” [4]

If anything, the reality behind these images is even more horrible than what John records here.

Notice what these demons are doing: they’re tormenting unbelievers.

Verse 6 says they’re filling them with such despair that “people will seek death and will not find it.”

Whenever we see an addict destroyed by sin, or a person consumed by bitterness, or a life ruined by rebellion, or another celebrity who has everything yet remains gripped in suicidal despair, we are hearing the sound of the fifth trumpet.

And it’s sounding more than you think...

Sports, music, and streaming give us more entertainment than any generation in history, yet we're more bored than ever. Social media gives us more ways to connect than ever before, yet we're lonelier than ever. We have greater access to therapy and mental health resources than any previous generation, yet anxiety and depression continue to rise. We travel more, own more, consume more, and experience more than our great-grandparents ever imagined. Yet we are still restless. We have the freedom to become almost anything we want to be, yet many people feel more enslaved than ever.

Why? Because Satan always overpromises and underdelivers.

He promises life and delivers misery. He promises freedom and delivers slavery. He promises satisfaction and leaves people longing for death.

Have you noticed that nobody in Revelation 9 is enjoying their rebellion? The world says sin is freedom. The Bible says sin is torment.

Have you tasted everything the world has to offer and still found yourself unsatisfied?

That’s because all the pleasures of this world are just saltwater apart from Christ.

But if you’re a follower of Jesus, you don’t need to fear this Enemy.

He may prowl around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour, but he’s a lion on a leash.

He and his minions can tempt believers externally, but they cannot possess you internally. Verse 4 says they cannot touch those who have been sealed by God.

And notice verse 5 says they’re only allowed to torment the world for five months. Five months roughly corresponds to a locust season. The point seems to be that God has placed limits on Satan's activity. The devil is dangerous, but he is not sovereign. Even demons have an expiration date.

Everything bad that happens in this life is a warning sign pointing us to our need for Jesus.

God warns us through natural disasters and through Satanic despair.

Finally…

3) God Warns Us Through Human Depravity.

Revelation 9:13–19—Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour, the day, the month, and the year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of mounted troops was twice ten thousand times ten thousand; I heard their number. And this is how I saw the horses in my vision and those who rode them: they wore breastplates the color of fire and of sapphire and of sulfur, and the heads of the horses were like lions’ heads, and fire and smoke and sulfur came out of their mouths. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents with heads, and by means of them they wound.

Like the fifth trumpet, the sixth trumpet features the activity of demons.

The trouble begins when four angels are released to kill a third of mankind.

These are undoubtedly evil angels (aka demons) since they were bound and come to destroy.

Also, in verses 17-19 the sixth trumpet brings fire-breathing horses with tails like Medusa’s hair.

How then is the sixth trumpet different from the fifth trumpet?

The fifth trumpet shows what Satan does to unbelievers. The sixth trumpet shows what Satan does through unbelievers.

In the fifth trumpet Satan torments. In the sixth trumpet Satan destroys.

And how does he destroy us? By inciting us to kill one another.

Verse 16 depicts an army of two hundred million horsemen gathering to slaughter one another. And they’re riding on the backs of a demonic horde.

Once again Joel Beeke is helpful here: “There is no place on earth where a literal army of two hundred million horsemen could gather. Thus, we should not understand this figure literally, but as a representation of the monstrousness, ugliness, and awfulness of war. War has been called the ultimate obscenity. . . . God is warning us about the monstrousness of what we are capable of when He removes His restraining hand.” [5]

Any time we see the ravages of human bloodlust, we are hearing the sound of the sixth trumpet.

Serial killers, terrorists, mass shootings, genocides, wars—even the horrors of abortion—are all intended to wake us up to the reality of a coming judgment.

I’m old enough to remember the Sunday after 9/11/2001. The churches all across America were full. Why? Because all of a sudden Americans were confronted with the reality of bloodthirsty evil. And, at least for a few weeks, it woke us up to our need for God. That’s exactly what these trumpets are designed to do.

When we see the great evils that humans are capable of, we should wake up to our need for forgiveness.

Now, as bad as this depravity is, the tragic reality is it gets worse...

Revelation 9:20–21—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, nor did they repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

These verses offer one of the strongest arguments for what theologians call “total depravity” in the Bible.

Total depravity does not mean humans are as bad as they could be.

Thankfully not everyone is as evil as an Adolf Hitler!

Total depravity means that every part of every human has been corrupted by sin.

Our bodies, thoughts, desires, and emotions have all been corrupted.

Like a single drop of cyanide poisons an entire water bottle, one drop of sin has corrupted the entire person.

Our depravity is so bad that humanity can see all these warning signs—natural disasters, Satanic despair, and human depravity—and yet many still don’t repent.

Even this—the horrible evils that humanity is capable of—is meant to be a warning sign to point us to Jesus.

Everything bad that happens in this life—natural disasters, satanic despair, and even human depravity—is a warning sign pointing us to our need for Jesus.

So what should we do with a passage like this? Let me leave you with four quick takeaways...

First, we should remember God is in control.

It is at His command that all these disasters fall on earth. And it is His mercy that limits their damage.

Even the demons can only wreak havoc in the hearts and lives of humanity when Jesus permits them.

Christian, don’t be anxious when bad things happen in this life. Remember God is in control.

Second, if you belong to Jesus, you should rejoice in your salvation.

You might have noticed as we studied these first six trumpets that they sound a lot like some of the plagues that fell upon Egypt in the book of Exodus.

God sent hail and fire, bloody water, darkness, and locusts to the Egyptians too.

Why did He do that? Because He was rescuing His people!

When we see the disasters around us, we should hear the voice of God saying “Let My people go!”

Rejoice, Christian! Your worse day on earth is the closest to hell you’ll ever be. Your redemption is coming!

Third, we should reach out to a lost and dying world.

These trumpets are like the tremors that shook Mount St. Helens in the weeks before it erupted. They're signs that something is deeply wrong. Warnings that a greater judgment is still to come.

But a tremor doesn't tell you where to go. A bulging mountainside doesn't tell you how to be saved. Warning signs can show you that something is wrong, but they can't fix the problem.

You and I are like the geologists standing at the edge of the danger zone. We can see what's coming. And we have something this world desperately needs: we know the way out.

Your friends and neighbors can feel it too. They know something is wrong with the world—with their marriages, their bodies, their nation, their own hearts. You don't need to convince them of that. What they need is someone to tell them where to run.

So let's tell them, before it's too late.

Finally, we should run to Jesus.

If you’re not a Christian, I’m pleading with you this morning to run to Jesus before it’s too late.

Do you believe the Good News? That your sin is so bad you can't do anything to earn God's love—and yet God is so good that He sent His own Son to live a sinless life, die a sinner's death, and rise from the dead so that you can be saved?

The real question isn't whether you've seen the warning signs.

The real question is whether you've responded to them.

There's one part of the Mount St. Helens story I didn't tell you.

Harry Truman wasn't the only person living near the mountain.

Thousands of others heard the warnings and fled. They lost homes and possessions, but they kept the one thing they could never replace—their lives.

Running to Jesus will cost you something, friend.

Maybe it will cost you a relationship.

Maybe it will mean giving up that sinful hobby.

Maybe it will mean admitting publicly what you know privately. That even though everybody thinks you are a Christian, you actually aren’t.

Whatever it will cost, I promise you it’s worth it. Don’t lose your eternal soul because you’re afraid to let go of some temporary pleasure. Run to Jesus while you can.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Jesus Strong and Kind

CELEBRATION OF BAPTISM

Doxology

Benediction (2 Thessalonians 3:16)