The Seven Trumpets (part 2)

Rev 9

Background

In Rev 8 we encountered the 1st 4 trumpets.

First Trumpet - Rev 8:7

hail & fire mixed with blood

1/3 of earth, 1/3 of trees, & all green grass

Second Trumpet Rev 8:8

Great Mountain (like) thrown into sea

1/3 sea to blood

1/3 sea-creatures die

1/3 ships destroyed

Third Trumpet Rev 8:10

Great star fell

1/3 rivers & springs

water becomes bitter (wormwood)

Many men died

Forth Trumpet (vs12)

1/3 sun, 1/3 moon, 1/3 stars darkened

1/3 of day and night lose light

Fifth Trumpet Rev. 9

Locusts

darkness

1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. 3 And out of the smoke came forth locusts upon the earth; and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

c. Don’t harm the grass, nor tree

d. Harm men who do not have seal

- seek death but can’t die

e. Christians not harmed

New American Standard Bible The Fifth Trumpetthe Bottomless Pit

4 And they were told that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5 And they were not permitted to kill anyone, but to torment for five months; and their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it stings a man. 6 And in those days men will seek death and will not find it; and they will long to die and death flees from them.

Note they have the power to torment men for five months. As a result people seek death. They try to kill themselves, but they can’t die.

“Death flees from them.”

Cautious about reading too much into text. We will know when it happens.

New American Standard Bible The Fifth Trumpetthe Bottomless Pit

7 And the aappearance of the locusts was like horses prepared for battle; and on their heads, as it were, crowns like gold, and their faces were like the faces of men. 8 And they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like the teeth of lions

These “locusts” had the faces of men. They wore crowns of old on their heads. They had long hair like women (or braids in it), but their teeth were like the teeth of lions.

New American Standard Bible The Fifth Trumpetthe Bottomless Pit

9 And they had breastplates like breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots, of many horses rushing to battle. 10¿10 And they have tails like scorpions, and stings; and in their tails is their power to hurt men for five months. 11 They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is cAbaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon.

Their power is limited to 5 months!

e. Ruler over them is Apollyon - means destruction

New American Standard Bible The Fifth Trumpetthe Bottomless Pit

12 The first woe is past; behold, two woes are still coming after these things.

This is only the 1st woe

6. Sixth Trumpet - Vs 13

a) 4 angels released

i. 1/3 of mankind killed

ii. 1/4 of mankind killed with 4th Seal

To put this in context, we need to flip back to the 4th seal…

Rev. 6:8

8 And I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. And authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

New American Standard Bible The Sixth TrumpetArmy from the East

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, 14 one saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.” 15 And the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released, so that they might kill a third of mankind.

iii. prepared for a specific time.

1/3 of mankind is wiped our.

So, if the earth has a population of 8 billion the 4th seal wiped out 1/4th of the population or aprox. 2 billion people! Now, at the 6th Trumpet 2 billion more people die. (not counting those who died as a result of the other judgments.

1/2 of the population of the earth or some 4 billion people have died!

iv. Army of 200 million

Revelation 9:16 NASB

16 And the number of the armies of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them.

literally 20,000 10,000’s = 200 million

Is this possible? Some have speculated this is the Chinese army

China currently has a military size of 3.3 million, but its available manpower is 752 million. It could easily call up the manpower if it so desired.

However the text says “release the FOUR ANGELS, WHO HAVE BEEN PREPARED.

Again - caution about reading too much in

Revelation 9:17–18 NASB

17 And this is how I saw in the vision the horses and those who sat on them: the riders had breastplates the color of fire and of hyacinth and of brimstone; and the heads of the horses are like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths proceed fire and smoke and brimstone. 18 A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths.

Are these creatures demonic beings? or human? we would be guessing!

but 1/3 of mankind is killed by them.

New American Standard Bible The Sixth TrumpetArmy from the East

19 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and in their tails; for their tails are like serpents and have heads; and with them they do harm.

Some have described this as men in helicopters .... or tanks … We will know when we see it.

Now the purpose of God’s judgments is repentance. His desire is to bring his creation to repentance so they can be saved.

How does mankind respond when the see the power of God and are put face-to-face with his wrath?

New American Standard Bible The Sixth TrumpetArmy from the East

20 And the rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; 21 and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

They did not repent!

but continued in the sinful ways.

This does not sound like the mass revival that some modern day preachers have said will come to pass. Some may get saved … but there hearts have been hardened.

What should be our response? Now is the acceptable time … Now is the day of salvation.

If you are not saved, then now is the time to put your trust in God. If you are saved, now is the time to share the gospel and to stress the importance of repentance from sin NOW and placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ NOW! Tomorrow may be too late!