Seven Trumpets of Woe

(Revelation 8:1-9:21)

INTRODUCTION:

Chapters eight and nine must be taken as a unit in order to get a clear picture of what God wants us to see about the seven trumpet judgments of the tribulation.

I- GOD DELIGHTS IN THE PRAYERS OF HIS CHILDREN.

(Revelation 8:1-4)

Revelation 8:1–4 (NLT)

1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.

2 I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and they were given seven trumpets.

3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

A- God makes time to hear the prayers of His children.

(Revelation 8:1)

Revelation 8:1 (NLT)

1 When the Lamb broke the seventh seal on the scroll, there was silence throughout heaven for about half an hour.

1- In the middle of the tribulation events, there is a great pause, so that prayers may be offered to God.

a. The silence in Heaven is an eloquent emphasis to the importance of prayer.

(1) There are many things that God will not do unless we pray.

(James 4:2)

James 4:2 (NLT)

2 You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.

(a) Send revival. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)

14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

(b) Heal the sick. (James 5:13-16)

James 5:13–16 (NLT)

13 Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.

14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord.

15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

(2) There is also a time when God will act unless we pray.

(a) He will execute judgment if we fail to pray.

(Ezekiel 22:30-31)

Ezekiel 22:30–31 (NLT)

30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one.

31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”

In Exodus, God would have destroyed Israel if Moses had not interceded. (Exodus 32)

B- The prayers of God’s people are acceptable sacrifices to God.

(Revelation 8:3-4)

Revelation 8:3–4 (NLT)

3 Then another angel with a gold incense burner came and stood at the altar. And a great amount of incense was given to him to mix with the prayers of God’s people as an offering on the gold altar before the throne.

4 The smoke of the incense, mixed with the prayers of God’s holy people, ascended up to God from the altar where the angel had poured them out.

1- The prayers of the saints are offered with incense upon the golden altar in front of God’s throne.

a. God delights in listening to his children when they speak to Him.

(Note Jeremiah 33:3)

Jeremiah 33:3 (NLT)

3 Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.

2- The prayers ascend directly up to God.

a. Sometimes we wonder how high our prayers go.

(1) They go all of the way to the Lord Himself.

(2) He has no secretary that “screens-out” callers - every call goes to Him!

II- GOD DELIVERS JUDGMENT WHEN MERCY AND PARDON ARE SPURNED.

(Revelation 8:5-9:19)

A- The prayers of the saints are turned into vehicles of judgment. (Revelation 8:5)

Revelation 8:5 (NLT)

5 Then the angel filled the incense burner with fire from the altar and threw it down upon the earth; and thunder crashed, lightning flashed, and there was a terrible earthquake.

1- The prayers of the saints requesting mercy, love, forgiveness and salvation for lost loved-ones have been trampled underfoot.

a. God will not hold guiltless those who refuse to respond to the extension of love, mercy and pardon.

b. The flip-side of God’s love is His judgment!

(Proverbs 1:23-33)

(1) My lost friend, if you reject Christ, you are storing-up wrath for your own judgment.

(Romans 2:5)

Romans 2:5 (NLT)

5 But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

2- The Saints’ prayers for God’s will to be done will be fulfilled.

a. Sometimes answering “Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven,” requires exerting tremendous pressure to break through stubborn pride.

B- The judgments delivered will be severe.

(Revelation 8:5-9:19)

1- The First Trumpet Judgment: (Revelation 8:7)

Revelation 8:7 (NLT)

7 The first angel blew his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were thrown down on the earth. One-third of the earth was set on fire, one-third of the trees were burned, and all the green grass was burned.

a. The destruction of food sources.

2- The Second Trumpet Judgment: (Revelation 8:8-9)

Revelation 8:8–9 (NLT)

8 Then the second angel blew his trumpet, and a great mountain of fire was thrown into the sea. One-third of the water in the sea became blood,

9 one-third of all things living in the sea died, and one-third of all the ships on the sea were destroyed.

a. The destruction of 1/3 of the sea and everything associated with it.

(1) As it were (ὡς). “As if,” not a great mountain, but a blazing mass as large as a mountain. Burning with fire (πυρι καιομενον). Present middle participle of καιω. Somewhat like Enoch 18:13, but perhaps with the picture of a great volcanic eruption like that of Vesuvius in a.d. 79. Strabo tells of an eruption b.c. 196 which made a new island (Palaea Kaumene). Became blood (ἐγενετο αἱμα). Like the Nile in the first plague (Ex. 7:20ff.). Cf. also 16:3.

b. But what kind of volcano begins in the sky and is thrown into the sea? Only something directly from the hand of God. We aren’t meant to know the mechanism of this destruction. It is enough that he who created sea life on the fifth day of Creation now destroys a third of that life.

3- The Third Trumpet Judgment: (Revelation 8:10-11)

Revelation 8:10–11 (NLT)

10 Then the third angel blew his trumpet, and a great star fell from the sky, burning like a torch. It fell on one-third of the rivers and on the springs of water.

11 The name of the star was Bitterness. It made one-third of the water bitter, and many people died from drinking the bitter water.

a. Burning as a torch (καιομενος ὡς λαμπας). See 4:5 and Matt. 2:2, perhaps a meteor, striking at the fresh-water supply (rivers ποταμων , springs πηγας) as in the first Egyptian plague also. Wormwood (ὁ Ἀψινθος). Absinthe. Usually feminine (ἡ), but masculine here probably because ἀστηρ is masculine. Only here in N. T. and not in LXX (πικρια , bitterness, χολη, gall, etc.) except by Aquila in Prov. 5:4; Jer. 9:15; 23:15. There are several varieties of the plant in Palestine. Became wormwood (ἐγενετο εἰς ἀψινθον). This use of εἰς in the predicate with γινομαι is common in the LXX and the N. T. (16:19; John 16:20; Acts 5:36). Of the waters (ἐκ των ὑδατων). As a result of (ἐκ ) the use of the poisoned waters. Were made bitter (ἐπικρανθησαν ). First aorist passive indicative of πικραινω. Old verb (from πικρος, bitter), as in 10:9f. In a metaphorical sense to embitter in Col. 3:19.

b. Wormwood (ἀψινθον), that which makes water no longer potable, is a bitter and poisonous herb. When used without control, it can produce convulsions, paralysis, and even death.

c. The destruction of water sources will create more problems.

4- The Fourth Trumpet Judgment: (Revelation 8:12-13)

Revelation 8:12–13 (NLT)

12 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet, and one-third of the sun was struck, and one-third of the moon, and one-third of the stars, and they became dark. And one-third of the day was dark, and also one-third of the night.

13 Then I looked, and I heard a single eagle crying loudly as it flew through the air, “Terror, terror, terror to all who belong to this world because of what will happen when the last three angels blow their trumpets.”

a. The lights in the Heavens will be dimmed.

(1) This will affect the remaining plant life.

(2) This will affect the Earth’s climate cycles.

5- The Fifth Trumpet judgment: (Revelation 9:1-12)

Revelation 9:1–12 (NLT)

1 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen to earth from the sky, and he was given the key to the shaft of the bottomless pit.

2 When he opened it, smoke poured out as though from a huge furnace, and the sunlight and air turned dark from the smoke.

3 Then locusts came from the smoke and descended on the earth, and they were given power to sting like scorpions.

4 They were told not to harm the grass or plants or trees, but only the people who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads.

5 They were told not to kill them but to torture them for five months with pain like the pain of a scorpion sting.

6 In those days people will seek death but will not find it. They will long to die, but death will flee from them!

7 The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. They had what looked like gold crowns on their heads, and their faces looked like human faces.

8 They had hair like women’s hair and teeth like the teeth of a lion.

9 They wore armor made of iron, and their wings roared like an army of chariots rushing into battle.

10 They had tails that stung like scorpions, and for five months they had the power to torment people.

11 Their king is the angel from the bottomless pit; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek, Apollyon—the Destroyer.

12 The first terror is past, but look, two more terrors are coming!

a. Satan and his demons will be allowed total freedom.

(1) This results in disastrous consequences for humans.

(a) People will be tormented and will seek unsuccessfully to die.

6- The Sixth Trumpet judgment: (Revelation 9:13-19)

Revelation 9:13–19 (NLT)

13 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice speaking from the four horns of the gold altar that stands in the presence of God.

14 And the voice said to the sixth angel who held the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River.”

15 Then the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one-third of all the people on earth.

16 I heard the size of their army, which was 200 million mounted troops.

17 And in my vision, I saw the horses and the riders sitting on them. The riders wore armor that was fiery red and dark blue and yellow. The horses had heads like lions, and fire and smoke and burning sulfur billowed from their mouths.

18 One-third of all the people on earth were killed by these three plagues—by the fire and smoke and burning sulfur that came from the mouths of the horses.

19 Their power was in their mouths and in their tails. For their tails had heads like snakes, with the power to injure people.

a. The demons in the deep will be loosed.

(1) They will bring more war and additional bloodshed upon the Earth.

7- The Seventh Trumpet Judgment: (Revelation 10)

a. Will open the final round of judgments from God.

III- GOD RESPECTS THE HUMAN WILL.

(Revelation 9:20-21)

Revelation 9:20–21 (NLT)

20 But the people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!

21 And they did not repent of their murders or their witchcraft or their sexual immorality or their thefts.

A- God does not force anyone to accept His mercy and pardon.

(John 1:11-12)

John 1:11–12 (NLT)

11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him.

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

1- The people in this passage will refuse God’s mercy… they will refuse to repent.

a. They will continue in their evil deeds.

b. They will continue to worship demons.

c. They will continue to commit murder.

d. They will continue their witchcraft.

e. They will continue their immorality.

f. They will continue to steal.

2- Lost friend, you have a choice.

a. Accept God’s mercy or reject it.

(1) To reject His mercy is to continue behavior that will eventually destroy you and doom you eternally. (John 3:16-18)

John 3:16–18 (NLT)

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.

CONCLUSION:

Lost friend, Christian people have been praying for you. God offers pardon and mercy through the completed work of Christ. What will you decide to do?