THE SEVENTH SEAL TH FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS
Notes
Transcript
THE SEVENTH SEAL AND THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS
REVELATION 8:6-12
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
THE FIRST TRUMPET:
6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
There came a fierce storm; it was hail and fire mixed with blood:
1 (8:6–7) Trumpet Judgments—Judgment: there will be the blast of the first trumpet judgment, that of a fierce storm. Remember the terrifying disturbances that will be taking place in outer space and upon earth in the latter days. The universe and the laws of nature will be swaying: enormous and violent disturbances will be taking place all throughout the universe. We saw this under the seal judgments.
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven [meteorites] fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Re. 6:12–14).
These cosmic disturbances will cause chaos in the earth’s weather. A violent storm will brew someplace on the earth, a storm more violent than any storm ever seen before. The storm will rain hail that looks like fire mingled with blood. The reddish color will no doubt be a mixture of sand blown up into the clouds by some of the most fierce winds ever seen by man. Note the force of the winds. The storm will be so strong that its winds will carry it across one third of the earth—strong enough to destroy and devastate one third of the vegetation (grass and trees). Think of the enormous destruction and utter devastation:
⇒ the destroyed crops and food supply for both man and animal
⇒ the interrupted agricultural rotation through lack of seed and ability to plant again
⇒ the shortage of food
⇒ the dry, desert lands that will result from the destruction of trees
One third of the vegetation of the earth will be destroyed in this judgment. Why? Because the end of the world will be at hand. God will begin to judge the ungodly and the evil of this earth. It will be time for people to know that God is truly God, and that He is to be obeyed or else people will be judged and punished. This judgment will be a warning: people must repent or even worse judgments will come.
⇒ This judgment will be similar to the plagues upon Egypt by Moses.
“And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation” (Ex. 9:23–24).
⇒ This judgment will be similar to the storm upon the enemies of Joshua and Israel.
“And it came to pass, as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died: they were more which died with hailstones than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword” (Jos. 10:11).
⇒ Other Biblical references to hail storms are as follows.
“The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire” (Ps. 18:13).
“Behold, the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with the hand” (Is. 28:2).
“Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it” (Eze. 13:11).
“The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up” (Re. 8:7).
THE SECOND TRUMPET
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
2 (8:8–9) Trumpet Judgments: there will be the blast of the second trumpet ---judgment. This will probably be some unparalled volcanic explosion either from underneath the sea or else close to the sea. The explosion will apparently be as forceful as an atomic explosion, forceful enough to explode a mass of rock as large as a mountain into some ocean. I need you to take Note of these facts:
⇒ The explosion will be so forceful that the mass of rock flying upward is so large that it looks like a great mountain.
⇒ The explosive mass will still be ablaze when it hits the earth.
⇒ The explosive mass will be cast into one of the seas.
⇒ One third of that particular sea will turn blood red.
⇒ One third of the sea life of that sea will be destroyed.
⇒ One third of the ships in that particular ocean will be destroyed.
Again, picture the shortage of sea life for food, the devastation to the fishing industry and businesses, the interruption of shipping commerce and trade, the financial loss because of the destroyed ships and their cargo. Commerce and food supply will be crippled worldwide by the blast of the first and second trumpets.
⇒ The destruction of fish will be similar to the plague upon Egypt.
“And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt” (Ex. 7:20–21).
“Hear the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel: for the Lord hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land. By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood. Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away” (Ho. 4:1–3).
“For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low.… and upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures” (Is. 2:12, 16).
⇒ The judgment of God was predicted centuries ago.
“I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the Lord. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the Lord” (Zep. 1:2–3).
“He turned their waters into blood, and slew their fish” (Ps. 105:29).
THE THIRD TRUMPET
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
3 (8:10–11) Trumpet Judgments: there will be the blast of the third trumpet judgment, that of a meteoric mass. This will apparently be some huge meteor that explodes before it hits the earth. It will scatter over one third of the world. The balls and particles that fall into the rivers and springs of water will drastically affect the water systems in that part of the world. It will actually poison the water, and before men become aware of it, many will die from drinking the water. Because of the bitter taste of the water, the star is called wormwood. Wormwood is a plant that is very bitter. Think of the effect of this meteoric mass upon the earth:
⇒ the shortage of water
⇒ the thirst among people
⇒ the panic because of thirst
⇒ the mobilization of emergency aid needed to get water to one third of the earth
⇒ the sheer terror, fright, and agony burning at the minds of people because of these three judgments
But remember upon whom the judgments will be falling: upon the ungodly and the evil of the earth, upon the antichrist and his government and followers, upon those who have literally slain millions of God’s people upon the earth, upon those who have abused, mocked, cursed, beaten, imprisoned and killed the followers of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thought 1. Note how the bitterness of wormwood is used in Scripture.
1) Wormwood became a symbol of idolatry because of its bitterness. Idolatry is a bitter taste for God to swallow; therefore, He will give the idolater the bitterness or wormwood of judgment.
“And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink” (Je. 9:13–15).
2) Wormwood is used to symbolize the bitterness that an immoral person brings into one’s life.
“For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: but her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell” (Pr. 5:3–5).
3) Wormwood is used to symbolize the way people dismiss and treat God with disdain.
“Lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turneth away this day from the Lord our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations; lest there should be among you a root that beareth gall and wormwood” (De. 29:18).
“And the Lord saith, Because they have forsaken my law which I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice, neither walked therein; but have walked after the imagination of their own heart and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them: therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink” (Je. 9:13–15).
“Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets; Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land” (Je. 23:15).
“Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel. Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth” (Am. 5:6–7).
THE FOURTH TRUMPET
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
4 (8:12) Trumpet Judgments: there will be the blast of the fourth trumpet judgment, that of some astronomical eclipse. Some kind of unusual eclipse is going to happen in the heavens.
“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 2:10).
“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord god, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day” (Am. 8:9).
Just what Scripture is saying here is difficult to understand. It seems that one of three things is meant.
⇒ That one third of the sun, moon, and stars will be eclipsed.
⇒ That there will be an eclipse that will blacken out one third of the day; that is, there will be one third less light.
⇒ That there will be no light whatsoever for a third of the night; that is, the moon will be eclipsed for one third of each night.
Whatever is meant, the event will be a judgment, a plague of God’s. He will be behind the event, striking fear in the ungodly and evil of this world. God will have two purposes: to lead men to repent and, if they refuse, to judge them for all the evil and ungodly acts against His name and His people.
The picture is this: God has had enough. It is time to stop all the evil and murderous behavior of people. He is ready to end the world and send Christ back to earth to establish righteousness upon earth forever. But He still wants to reach as many as He can. In mass, the world has rejected Him and His people; and they have set a course of genocide, attempting to wipe all believers off the face of the earth. The antichrist and his followers have launched a holocaust that has slaughtered millions. Therefore, God is now moving in judgment by throwing the forces of nature out of course. He is getting ready to destroy the earth and begin anew; but in the meantime, He offers the opportunity of repentance to any who will turn from their sin to His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
⇒ This judgment will be similar to the plague of darkness cast upon Egypt by Moses.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings” (Ex. 10:21–23).
⇒ One such astronomical event has already happened in the seal judgments.
“And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Re. 6:12–14).
⇒ Other Scriptures predict such astronomical events for the latter days.
“The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining” (Joel 2:10).
“And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord god, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day” (Am. 8:9).
⇒ Jesus Christ predicted such astronomical events for the latter days.
“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh” (Lu. 21:25–28).[1]